
Book^E 4 






/ 




AMERICAN 
ARCHERY 



A Fade Mecum of the Art of 
Shooting with the Long Bow 



Compiled by 

DR. ROBERT P. ELMER 




Published under the auspices of the 
National Archery Association of the 
United States : : MCMXVII 



PREFACE 

This book was prepared as an act of 
the National Archery Association of the 
United States, and its pubHcation authorized 
at the annual meeting of that body in 1916. 
It is made possible by the efforts of its prin- 
cipal author and its editor, both being Dr. 
Robert P. Elmer, present and for three years 
past Champion archer of the United States. 
American and other archers will be grateful 
to Dr. Elmer, not only for the filling of the 
great need for any current book at all on the 
sport, but for the excellence of his own con- 
tributions and for his diligence and discrim- 
ination in collecting the remainder of the 
chapters. 

Two of the chapters are substantially of 
matter once published in Forest and Stream. 
Permission has been given for its reprinting 
herein. We are grateful 

The format, the cover, the title page and 
other artistic requirements of the book have 
been made as they are by the advice and 
assistance of Mr. Arthur N. Hosking. We 
hope they are reasonably to his liking; and 
to him, also, we are grateful. 



4 Preface 

The medallion used on the cover and title 
page is from the medal designed by Mr. 
Cyrus E. Dallin. This beautiful work of art 
is pronounced by the Secretary of the Ameri- 
can Numismatic Society to be the best medal 
ever produced in America. Frequent refer- 
ence to awards of its replicas as prizes will be 
found in this book. 

Acknowledgement is made of the work of 
the remaining authors. 

The price of the book will be that necessary 
to support its publication. The wider cur- 
rency it is given, the lower the price may be 
made for succeeding editions. If a profit is 
made, it will be the property of the National 
Archery Association of the United States. 
That profit will be expended for the further- 
ance of the sport. Therefore all promotion 
of the sale of this book and the making of 
gifts of it will work in a pleasing and profitable 
circle to the good of archery and archers. 
Verbum sapienti. 

Samuel G. McMeen. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

Chapter Author Page 

I. History of American Archery. Dr. Robert P. Elmer. . 7 

II. Study of Correct Archery. Dr. Robert P. Elmer 21 

III. Equipment. Dr. Robert P. Elmer 33 

-. IV. Hints to Beginners. Samuel G. McMeen 40 

V. Constitution of the National Archery Association of the 

United States 47 

VI. How to Form an Archery Club. Dr. Robert P. Elmer, 63 
VII. Highest Official American Scores. Dr. Edward B. 

Weston ' . . 67 

VIII. The Best English Scores. Dr. Edward B. Weston. ... 69 
IX. Records of the National Archery Association of the 

United States. Dr. Edward B. Weston 73 

X. The Thirty-eighth Annual Tournament of the National 
Archery Association of the United States. James 

Duff 85 

XI. The Eastern Archery Association. Dr. Robert P. 

Elmer 103 

XII. Best Scores of All Kinds and Feats of Skill. Dr. Robert 

P. Elmer 114 

XIII. The Reddendo Arrows. J. Mark Mauser 152 

. XIV. Scoring by "Points." Dr. Robert P. Elmer 156 

XV. Flight Shooting. Dr. Robert P. Elmer 160 

XVI. An American Origin for the Point of Aim. Dr. Robert 

P. Elmer 171 

XVII. Arrowhead, the Archers' Flower. Dr. Robert P. Elmer . 176 
XVIII. French and Belgian Arche^}^ Dr. Robert P. Elmer. . . 178 

XIX. Choice of Woods for Bowmaking. James Duff 183 

XX. Bows and How to Make Them. J. M. Challiss 192 

XXI. Yew Bow Making. Dr. Harold G. Goldberg 220 

XXII. How to Make a Bowstring. L. W. Maxson 244 

XXIII. Notes on Arrow Making. Z. E. Jackson 247 

XXIV. The Composite Bow. Samuel G. McMeen 280 

XXV. Glossary, Dr. Robert P. Elmer 285 

5 



CHAPTER I 

History of American Archery 

By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 

IN THE minds of Americans the concepts 
relating to bows and arrows have two 
widely different derivations and yet, in the 
development of the sport of archery in this 
country, these sources are so intermingled 
that it cannot be said which has had the more 
potent influence. From prehistoric times to 
the present day the American Indians, though 
in constantly decreasing numbers, have used 
bows and arrows as their chief means of 
procuring food and as valuable weapons in 
war. Filled with tales of the frontier, boys 
without number have fashioned primitive 
imitations of the redman's equipment and have 
endeavored to emulate his prowess in the 
hunt and on the war-path. On the other 
hand the white man inherits legends of the 
bow from mediaeval Europe, with Robin 
Hood standing first in his imagination and 
behind him the archers of Crecy, Agincourt, 
the Wars of the Roses and the Norman Con- 



American Archery 



quest, with hosts of others whom his reading 
of history and romance have furnished. More 
distant still are the classic bowmen of Greece 
and of the vanished empires of Africa and 
Asia. 

These two streams of inspiration flowed 
together in the formation of the first archery 
club in America of which we have any record. 
"The United Bowmen of Philadelphia" was 
founded in 1828 by Titian Ramsey Peale. 
This young man, born in 1800, was a member 
of the famous family of artists of that name, 
and to secure drawings of the wild life of our 
West, he had accompanied, as assistant 
naturalist, the United States expedition under 
Major Long which explored the region from 
the Mississippi to the Rocky Mountains in 
1 8 19. From the Indians he had learned a 
love for the bow which he cherished until, a 
few years later, it led him to gather together 
five friends and start the club. To harmonize 
the sport with the conditions of civilization 
they were obliged to take as patterns the 
organizations already existing in England. 

That "The United Bowmen" was prosper- 
ous is well proven. Its membership was 
limited to 25 and, in all the years of its 



History of American Archery 9 

existence a total of 57 had joined. They must 
have presented a brave appearance as they 
stood in Hne, for they shot from under a 
long pavilion which was supported by 25 
poles, from each of which flew the flag of 
the archer beside it, and they were dressed in 
frock coats of Lincoln green, ornamented with 
gold braid, broad straw hats covered with 
green cloth and turned up with three black 
ostrich plumes, black belts and white panta- 
loons. The club published a little book called 
"The Archer's Manual," copies of which may 
still be found in public libraries. Its annual 
competitions were attended by as many as two 
thousand spectators, and not until 1858 did it 
stage its last contest. 

In 1888 the surviving members met for 
the last time and deposited their trophies 
and archives with the Pennsylvania Historical 
Society, where they may now be seen. The 
trophies are in a showcase which can be opened 
only by breaking the glass. Chief among 
them is a superb punch bowl, awarded 
annually to the champion. His name was 
engraved on a tag suspended from the rim 
and he was expected to embellish the outside 
with a heavy, silver acanthus leaf. Other 



lO American Archery 



trophies are a silver goblet for the second 
man, a smaller goblet for the man who made 
the hit nearest the center and a brooch for 
the sixth man. Strangely enough the third, 
fourth and fifth men received nothing. 

In 1859 the secretary wrote: "No grounds, 
no shooting." After that came the stirring 
events preceding the onset of the Civil War 
and archery suddenly ceased, to remain in 
desuetude for twenty years. 

Its revival then was very similar to its 
origin, for again a young man hunted among 
the Indians and afterward introduced the 
sport to civilization. Maurice Thompson, a 
young Confederate veteran who, in the closing 
days of the war, had been wounded in the 
chest, returned to his home in Georgia only 
to find it in ruins. Ordered by his doctor to 
an open air life in a still warmer climate, and 
too reduced in circumstances to live by other 
than his own efforts, he and his brother Will 
H. Thompson journeyed to Florida and there 
encamped with an Indian guide. Fire-arms 
were forbidden them because of their recent 
belligerency, so they made crude bows and 
arrows. With practice they became excellent 
shots, game was superabundant, and as their 



History of American Archery ii 

skill in hunting increased they also learned 
to fashion better weapons. 

Fortunately Maurice Thompson was "a 
writer as well as a fighter" and a few years 
later, in 1877 and 1878, he published a series 
of articles in Scribner's Magazine which 
related, in exquisite prose, his experiences in 
the woods and which, soon afterwards, were 
collected in a volume named "The Witchery 
of Archery." People at that time had no 
other lawn sport than croquet and they eagerly 
welcomed this more active exercise. Archery 
clubs sprang into existence as though by 
magic all over the United States, armed with 
anything from Indian weapons to the finest 
imported EngHsh goods. 

The Chicago Archery Association conceived 
the idea of coordinating all this energy and 
so they issued a call for a convention of 
archery societies to meet at Crawfordsville, 
Indiana, where Maurice Thompson was then 
living, to consider the propriety of creating 
a National Archery Association for the United 
States of America. The meeting was held on 
January 23rd, 1879, in the office of the mayor, 
and was attended by representatives of clubs 
in eight cities. The organization was duly 



12 American Archery 

effected, with Maurice Thompson as^'presi- 
dent, and it was voted to hold the first Grand 
National Tournament at Chicago, for three 
days in August, 1879. 

This tournament took place, as ordered, at 
White Stocking Park, now a part of Grant 
Park. Archers gathered from far and near, 
armed with material of every description, 
to the number of 89, a record of attendance 
which still remains unbroken. A brass band 
furnished music, caddies collected the arrows 
while the luxurious archers sipped refresh- 
ments, Society, in force, lent the glamor of 
its presence and about two thousand dollars 
worth of prizes, in cash, medals and mer- 
chandise, was competed for. Precedents were 
established of deciding the Championship by 
the Double York Round, the Woman's Cham- 
pionship by the Double Columbia Round, and 
the Men's Team Championship by the Ameri- 
can Round. The names of the winners of 
the chief events in this and the succeeding 
tournaments can be found in the tables 
elsewhere. Of the participants the only one 
who are known to be still shooting are G. F. 
Henry and Tacitus Hussey, of Des Moines, 
Will H. Thompson, of Seattle, and Dr. E. B. 



History of American Archery 13 

Weston, of Tropico, California, but until 
recently of Chicago. Homer S. Taylor, who 
is still one of the most skillful archers in the 
country, was present as a spectator. 

The chief eifect of this tournament was the 
general recognition of the N. A. A. as the 
center of influence in archery and of its annual 
tournament as the one preeminent archery 
event of the year. 

The next two meetings were held in Buffalo 
and Brooklyn. They were both very success- 
ful but, after that time, interest in the game 
seemed to become centralized in Chicago, 
Washington and Cincinnati and the succeed- 
ing tournaments were held either in those 
cities or in places which might be considered 
as tributaries of them. 

Changes in the program were made as 
experience widened. In 1881 the ladies began 
to shoot the Double National Round, as 
practiced in England, and thenceforward 
the championship was decided by that, instead 
of by the Double Columbia Round. Flight 
shooting was introduced in 1882 and, in the 
same year, the Team Contest was changed 
from a single American Round to its present 
form. The Team Contest for ladies was 72 



14 American Archery 

arrows at 40 yards, in 1882 and 1883 and as 
at present, thereafter. In 1883 the Double 
American Round was invented, for the pleas- 
ure of those who did not care for the long 
range shooting, and the winner was recognized 
as the American Round Champion, although 
he was always acknowledged to be inferior in 
rank to the York Round Champion. 

During the last decade of the nineteenth 
century the great popularity of tennis, cycling, 
and other fascinating sports did much to 
overshadow the lustre of archery, yet clubs 
continued to flourish, here and there, the 
annual tournaments were always held and 
the marksmanship of the contestants at them 
was almost uniformly meritorious. Until 
1902 the chief stars were Maxson, Williams, 
W. A. Clark and W. H. Thompson among the 
men and Mrs. Howell and Mrs. Phillips 
among the ladies. The only records that 
survive from that period are the Flight Shot of 
290 yards, by Maxson, the Single National of 
68-398, by Mrs. Howell and the Double 
National of 132-756, also by her. 

The year 1903 marks an epoch in archery 
in that it saw the return to the game of Dr. 
E. B. Weston, of Chicago. When it was 



History of American Archery 15 

decided that archery should have a place on 
the program of the Olympic Games, to be 
held in St. Louis in 1904, it was found that 
there was no one in the Middle West who 
was qualified to take the matter in charge. 
In this predicament Dr. Weston was per- 
suaded to devote his energies to reviving the 
sport in that part of the country and he set 
about it with such vigor and persistence that 
his name is honored by every archer. After 
a rest of 19 years he shot at the tournament 
of 1903, atNiagara Falls, with amusing results. 
He himself delights in telling that out of 72 
arrows at 100 yards he made 2-8, thus 
challenging the record of John Wilkinson who 
had made 1-9 in the previous year. 

About this time, partly because of the 
Olympic Games, the spirit of vitality in 
archery became renascent and each succeeding 
year has seen it grow more robust. The 
1904 tournament was held in the stadium at 
St. Louis and the shooting was done in a 
sea of mud. It had rained for fifteen hours 
before the contest began, so that it was nec- 
essary to furnish the archers with planks to 
stand on. At the end of the four days shooting 
some were still using them. During these 



1 6 American Archery 

two years the future champions Bryant and 
Richardson first appeared in competition. 

In 1905 the tournament was held in 
Chicago, with the largest entrance list since 
1889. Numerous archers of former days 
returned to the sport and new ones of great 
promise. became interested. 

In 1906 a successful meeting was held at 
Boston and then for five years the archers 
mustered at Chicago, mainly for the reason 
that Dr. Weston was willing to do all the hard 
work. While all these meetings were on a 
high plane, in every particular, that of 1910 
is chiefly memorable, for there, shooting in a 
high wind, Harry B. Richardson made the 
American records of 116-566 for the Single 
York Round and 231-1111 for the Double 
York ■ Round. In the Grand National of 
England this has been exceeded only once, 
in 1857, when Ford made the world's record 
of 245-1251. 

At the end of this quinquennial it became 
apparent that the increasing number of archers 
in the East deserved recognition and so 1912 
saw a highly successful tournament held at 
Boston, under the presidency of a new and 
enthusiastic archer, B. P. Gray. The range 



History of American Archery 17 

was laid out on the athletic field of Harvard 
University and luncheon was served in the 
adjacent stadium. The shooting was excep- 
tionally good. G. P. Bryant made 230-1094 
in the Double York Round, thus getting four 
figures for the second time in America, and 
he created the present records for the Single 
and Double American Rounds with 90-618 
and 1 77-1 153. For the first time three con- 
testants got over 1000 in the Double American 
Round. 

In 1913 Boston was the host again. The 
only noteworthy performance this year was 
Mrs. Bryant's record flight shot of 251 yards 
and 2/10 foot. 

Since 1910 considerable interest in archery 
had been developing in some of the suburbs 
of Philadelphia, along the main line of the 
Pennsylvania Railroad, so it was voted to 
accept an invitation from the Merion Cricket 
Club at Haverford, to hold the 19 14 tourna- 
ment there. 

The spacious house of this fashionable club 
offered every convenience to the archers and 
the velvet lawn, backed by stately trees, 
made a setting for the targets which has 
never been excelled in beauty. Although the 



1 8 American Archery 

entry list was unusually large, no important 
records were broken. The most interesting 
feature was the Double Columbia Round 
which was so closely contested that the 
relative position of the first three ladies 
depended on the last arrow. 

Three successive tournaments in the East 
made it seem advisable to revisit Chicago in 
191 5. This meeting was handicapped by 
execrable weather. A wet chilling wind, 
such as is only too common in Chicago, 
swept in continually from the lake and on 
the last day there suddenly descended a deluge 
as though the flood gates of heaven had burst. 
In a few minutes the field was ankle deep 
with water, making it necessary to strike 
from the program all the events scheduled for 
that day. In spite of the bad conditions 
Miss Wesson made the records of 72-510 for 
the Single Columbia Round and 144-998 for 
the Double Columbia Round. She was 
shooting in such wonderful form that with 
better weather the national records would 
undoubtedly have been in serious danger. 

In archery there is no line between profes- 
sionals and amateurs, so the members of the 
N. A. A. were able to express their unanimous 



History of American Archery 19 

choice by electing James Duff, our popular 
fletcher, to be president for the following 
year, in which the tournament was held in 
his home town of Jersey City. The Scottish 
American Archers and the Clan McLeod took 
the big event under their canny guidance and 
the delightful result is fresh in the grateful 
memories of us all. Although the attendance 
was very satisfactory it would have been 
much larger had it not been for the appre- 
hension produced by the great epidemic of 
infantile paralysis in the neighboring cities of 
Newark and New York. However, the 
shooting throughout was of a very high grade. 
For the second time three men passed the 
thousand mark in the Double American 
Round, for the third time the four figures 
were obtained in the Double York Round and 
the flight shot was within six inches of the 
record. The comfort of the archers was pro- 
vided for in every way, particularly by a long 
awning for the ladies to stand under while 
shooting, a feature which recalled the pavilion 
of the United Bowmen of Philadelphia. 

At the closing banquet about forty braw 
Scots appeared in full Highland costume, 
their bows and arrows replaced by dirk and 



20 American Archery 

skean-dhu. Here good-fellowship reigned su- 
preme until the piper had squeezed the last 
tune through his chanter and the whole 
assembly, with arms crossed and hands clasp- 
ed, had fervently sung "Auld Lang Syne." 




Study of Correct Archery 21 



CHAPTER II 

Study of Correct Archery 
By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 

WHEN Roger Ascham, in 1542, wrote 
Toxophilus, "this Englishe matter in 
the EngHshe tongue for EngHshe men," he set 
the fashion for all future writers on archery by 
dividing the act of shooting with the long-bow 
into five parts, which he called, in the order 
of their occurrence, Standing, Nocking, Draw- 
ing, Holding and Loosing. As each of these 
is a step which must be mastered separately 
before the archer can rise to a plane of merit, 
I will still follow, in this short thesis, the 
"Scholemaster's" classic lead. At the same 
time I will try to present to the novice such 
other directions that he may know what to 
do from the moment he steps to the Shooting 
line till the arrow is quivered in its mark. 

First of all he should study, with great 
care, the Constitution of the National Archery 
Association and, so far as possible, conform 
his shooting to its rules. After that, let us 
hope he may find what follows a guide to 
help him in practical shooting. 



22 American Archery 

The six arrows, to be shot at one end, may 
be carried on the person, in a quiver or trouser's 
pocket, or they may be stood on the ground 
in front of the archer in some kind of recep- 
tacle. 

To string the how, grasp its handle with the 
left hand, the back of the bow being upper- 
most, and place the lower end, just above the 
tip, against the hollow of the left foot. Place 
the "heel" of the right hand against the 
upper end of the bow, below the loop of the 
string, and take the loop lightly between the 
thumb and forefinger. Then, holding the left 
hand steady, push hard with the right, 
letting it slide toward the nock and carrying 
the loop up till it falls into its groove. All 
pressure should be exerted on the bow, not 
on the string. To unstring the bow, bend it in 
the same wa}^ and pick the string out, lightly, 
with the first finger. 

The correct stand is very important. In 
archery one does not toe the mark, he straddles 
it. The heels should be about nine inches 
apart in the line the arrow is to follow, the 
archer, therefore, standing with his left side 
toward the target. The feet may be either in 
their natural position or, as taught by Dr. 



Study of Correct Archery 23 

Weston, the left foot may be at right angles 
to the line of the heels and the right foot 
point about forty-five degrees backwards. 
The weight should be borne evenly by both 
feet. 

The body should be perfectly erect. 

The position of the head must vary some- 
what with the individual. Classically, it 
should first be erect, as with a soldier at 
"Attention," and then turned sharply to the 
left so that the target is seen over the left 
shoulder. Yet for some people it is necessary 
to crane the neck, or tilt the head slightly, 
in order to provide for two essentials in arch- 
ery, one, that the nock of the arrow be 
directly under the right eye, and the other 
that there be a clear way for the string. 
Many archers, especially ladies., find that in 
the orthodox position the string hits the left 
arm, elbow, shoulder or chest, causing great 
pain and ruining the shot. Such people must 
hold the shoulder well down and back and 
sometimes must even face slightly toward the 
target, changing the position of the feet 
accordingly. 

To nock the arrow, grasp the bow-handle 
exactly as it will be held in shooting, the hand 



24 American Archery 

being even with the top of the handle, and 
hold the bow horizontal. Take the arrow by 
the nock, with the thumb and forefinger, and 
lay it on the bow, just touching the hand. 
Then fit it to the string, with the cock feather 
out, at exactly right angles, remembering that 
this relation is to the string and not to the bow, 
which may be crooked. During this opera- 
tion the arrow may be steadied by the left 
fore finger, but it is not at all necessary to 
do so. 

To draw the bow, hook the first three 
fingers under the string (the bow still being 
horizontal), with the arrow between the 
first and second, so that the string rests on 
the middle of the pads of the first joints. 
Then, turning the bow to a vertical position, 
raise the left arm stiffly, with elbow locked, 
straight away from the body, like a pump- 
handle, till the hand is level with the chin. 
Regarding the grip on the bow-handle there is 
a difference of opinion. Most authors say 
to grasp it with all one's strength but, person- 
ally, I prefer a very loose grip, the arm, and 
wrist however, being stiff as steel. The 
reason is derived from the fact, experimentally 
proven, that when a bow is held in a vise the 



Study of Correct Archery 25 

arrow will fly far to the left. In shooting by 
hand an arrow goes straight because it pushes 
the bow a fraction of an inch to the right and, 
obviously, this can be done more freely when 
the grip is loose than when it is tight. After 
thus elevating the bow proceed, with such 
quick movements as to save one's strength for 
the aiming, to draw the string back so that 
the pile rests on the hand and the nock is 
directly under the right eye, not necessarily 
near that organ but somewhere, on the face 
or neck, in the vertical line dropped from it. 
At every shot, no matter what distance from 
the target, the arrow must be drawn to its 
full length and held there, until loosed, with- 
out being allowed to creep forward so much 
as an eighth of an inch. In drawing, keep 
the elbow free from the body and fully as 
high as the hand. This allows the powerful 
muscles of the shoulder and shoulder-blade 
to do most of the pulling and makes one feel 
that he "puts his body into the bow," as 
Bishop Hugh Latimer expressed it. The 
hand must follow in the line of the arrow, 
bending sharply from the forearm at the wrist. 
The arrow must next be aimed, and the 
majority of archers do this with both eyes 



26 American Archery 

open. There are many, however, who close 
the left eye. It is probable that in target 
shooting one way is as good as the other, but 
in hunting it is quite necessary to use both 
eyes in order to judge distance. A beginner 
will often find, to his surprise, when his 
arrows are missing by wide margins, that he 
is not sighting with the right eye, as he thinks 
he is, but, inadvertently, is catching the aim 
with the left. In such a case he must shut 
the left eye until his vision be straightened 
out. 

The most difficult thing in aiming and, 
indeed, in all archery, is the control of the 
nock end of the arrow. The tip can be seen, 
and its position accurately adjusted, but the 
rear end, which is just as important, must be 
controlled entirely by touch. Thus, some 
archers draw to the angle of the jaw, some to 
the corner of the mouth, some to a tooth 
(felt through the lip), some to the Adam's 
Apple and some to the end of the collar-bone 
but everyone, who wishes to shoot well, 
must find some part of his facial or cervical 
anatomy, in the line below the right eye, to 
which he can always draw the nock with 
unfailing precision. 



Study of Correct Archery . 27 

The right hand being immovably fixed it 
follows that all variations in aim must be 
made by altering the position of the left 
hand, in either vertical or horizontal direc- 
tions. This means that one must bear in 
mind two things, the line to the target, 
which is easily found by sighting along the 
shaft, and the elevation of the arrow. "Eleva- 
tion" means the height of the tip with rela- 
tion to the nock and is what determines the 
distance the shaft will fly. Forty-five degrees 
will give the greatest trajectory but much 
less is required for ordinary shooting. To get 
the correct elevation, and have it the same 
for each succeeding arrow, one must make 
use of an expedient originated by Horace 
Ford and called by him "The Point of Aim." 
The meaning of this term may be explained 
as follows. 

When the arrow is fully drawn, and pointed 
in the line toward the target, the archer 
raises his left hand as much as his judgment 
directs and then, sighting over the tip of the 
pile, notes what his gaze falls on. Perhaps 
it is a dandelion, a lump of earth, a cloud or 
some other object. If, when shot from this 
elevation, the arrow hit the target, the object 



28 American Archery 

which the archer sees over his tip is his point 
of aim and he can get the correct trajectory 
for all his subsequent arrows by sighting 
their tips on that same point. If his arrow 
go too low, he must take a point of aim 
farther away, if too high, one nearer to him- 
self. For most archers the point of aim at 
lOO yards is high in the sky and consequently 
impossible to find on certain shooting grounds. 
A special method of aiming, devised for this 
distance, is to paint a small white or black 
ring on the arrow, so placed that, when the 
elevation is right, the ring will be in line 
between the eye and the target. This is a 
good way but it requires considerable practice 
because, while the target is visible to the left 
eye, it is concealed from the right eye by 
the bow-hand. If, however, both eyes be 
kept open and the gaze centered fixedly on 
the target, there will be produced an optical 
illusion of looking through the bow-hand, 
with the ring on the arrow seen vaguely by 
indirect vision. 

Authorities differ as to whether, in shooting 
at the shorter ranges, the gaze should be 
centered on the target, with the point of aim 
seen by indirect vision, or whether the 



Study of Correct Archery 29 

latter should be in primary focus and the 
former seen only vaguely. Probably either 
way is correct, provided the archer be con- 
sistent and do not let his eye wander. 

Holding is really a part of aiming. It 
refers to the time in which the arrow is held 
motionless just prior to the instant of flight, 
when that final coordination of eye and 
muscle is effected which is the acme of 
refined technique. Roger Ascham taught that 
this moment should be so brief as to be 
"better perceived in the mind than seen with 
the eye." Nevertheless, I have noticed that 
all the best shots in this country hold until 
they are perfectly certain that their aim is 
accurate and that all else is as it should be. 
In this connection I would say that a valuable, 
but difiicult, thing to learn is to relax the 
string, without loosing the arrow, and begin 
the shot again when one feels that some- 
thing is wrong. The frequent remark, "I 
knew that was not right before I shot it," is 
a reproach to the archer. 

If the archer has nocked, drawn, aimed and 
held his arrow precisely as he has been 
directed to do he is now ready for the final 
act which frees the shaft from his control 



30 American Archery 

and leaves it to be guided only by the laws ' 
of physics. Of all things in the art of shooting 
loosing is the most important. Without a 
good loose all that has been done before 
counts for naught. I emphasize this par- 
ticularly because most beginners seem to 
think that the aim is everything, forgetting 
that the flight of the arrow depends wholly 
on its position at the moment when it finally 
quits the string and on the propulsive force 
behind it, and that both of these factors 
may be ruined by the slightest side pull or 
sluggishness in loosing. To secure a good 
loose remember that the string must be borne 
on the first pad of each finger, and never 
hooked in the joint itself. Furthermore, the 
weight of the pull must be even on each 
finger. Usually the third finger has a tend- 
ency to carry most of the strain and the 
second much less, while the first finger takes 
up its share of the burden so reluctantly that 
it has been nicknamed, by Will Thompson, 
"The Shirking First." 

The ideal loose is the one that liberates 
the string with a minimum of disturbance 
and retains the full tension of the bow up 
to the very last. It cannot be obtained by 



Study of Correct Archery 31 

plucking the fingers off the string, as a harper 
twangs his instrument, because that would 
disconcert the aim. Neither will it suffice 
simply to open the fingers and let the string 
escape, for then the cast of the bow is lessened. 
The best way is to stiffen the arm still further, 
by a pull of the muscles that connect the 
shoulder-blade with the shoulder, as though 
one were continuing to draw, while the string 
is allowed to roll, at the same identical mo- 
ment of time, off the tips of the three fingers. 
It seems to me that Ascham should have 
added to his description of shooting a sixth 
division, which he might have called pausing, 
for, after the string has left the hand, the 
archer must stand, for a moment, like a 
statue, in the exact pose that he held at the 
instant of loosing. Otherwise he will find it 
impossible to keep the muscles at precisely 
the same tension while the arrow is crossing 
the bow. The left hand must not drop an 
iota and the right hand must remain resting 
firmly against the spot it has been drawn to. 
The best index at this point is the right 
elbow. If it has not dropped even a small 
fraction of an inch, the loose will probably 
have been a good one. 



32 American Archery 

In conclusion I would say that in no sport 
is the need of exactness in detail greater than 
it is in archery and, also, that the practice 
which leads to virtuosity consists not so much 
in mere frequency of shooting as in the careful 
study of every shaft that is sped. 




Equipment 33 



CHAPTER III 

*Equipment 
By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 

THE beginner will find the following in- 
structions helpful to him in selecting 
his equipment, or "Artillery" in the original 
meaning of the wordi 

Arrows 

Of all things- in the equipment of the archer 
the most important is the arrow. Unless 
every shaft be perfect and exactly like its 
fellows it is impossible to shoot well, no 
matter how good the rest of the tackle 
maybe. 

Arrows may be plain or footed. The former 
are made of one piece of wood and are fit 
only for toys. The latter have a shaft of 
soft wood with a "foot," or piece of hard 
wood, spliced on the pile end. This foot 
balances the arrow, so that it has a better 



*NoTE. — It used to be that archery goods made in England were 
much better than those made in America. Of late years, however, 
our domestic products have been so much improved that now they 
fully equal, if they do not even surpass, the foreign makes. 



34 American Archery 

flight, and also makes it much less liable to 
break. The shaft should be Douglas fir, spruce 
or Norway Pine. The foot may be of any 
strong, heavy wood. 

The pile, or point, of the arrow should be 
in the shape of a cylinder with a bev- 
elled end.- 

The nock, or slotted piece for the string, 
may be of fibre, horn or aluminum. The first 
two are wedge-shaped and set into the wood. 
The aluminum nocks are fitted over the end, 
like ferrules, and may be either tubular, as 
patented in England by Aldred, or cut from 
the solid bar, as used in America by Duff. 
Metal nocks are less apt to be injured when 
hit by another arrow, than are those of horn 
or fibre; the solid nocks are stronger than the 
tubular. 

The best feathers are from the turkey. 
They should be stiff and cut to exactly the 
same shape. White, or brilliantly colored 
feathers, are better than those of sombre 
hues because they can be seen more readily 
in the grass. 

Men's arrows should be 28 inches long, 
although a very tall or short man may 
require an inch more or less than that. They 



Equipment 3 5 

should weigh from 300 to 420 grains, in pro- 
portion to the strength of the bow, EngHsh 
arrows are marked in shilHngs; equivalent 
to 87^ grains to the shilling. 

Women's arrows should be 25 inches long 
and should weigh from 277 grains to 341 
grains. 

Bow 

The parts of the bow are named as follows : 
Back, Belly, Upper Limb, Lower Limb, 
Handle and Nocks. Bows are of two kinds, 
self and backed. A self bow is made either 
of one long stave or of two short staves spliced 
at the handle. Backed bows are made of 
two or more strips of wood glued together, 
either continuous or spliced. By this means 
the back can be made of raw-hide, or more 
often, of some wood possessing great tensile 
strength, like hickory or the sap-wood of 
yew, while the belly is made of a soft wood 
capable of high resiliency under com- 
pression stress. Belgian and French bows, 
which are usually exquisitely made, often 
have three or even four laminae of wood but 
English and American bows seldom have more 
than the two. 



36 American Archery 

Experts agree that the yew bow is the most 
pleasant to shoot, because of the smoothness 
of its draw. The relative merits of the self 
yew and yew-backed jtw have been much 
discussed but the difference, if any exist, is 
practically negligible. In general it may be 
said that backed and self bows are equally 
good, the method of manufacture depending 
more on the material of which the bow is 
made than on anything else. 

Although yew bows are nice to have they 
are very expensive and will not make a bit 
better scores than the cheaper lemonwood 
bows usually found in the shops. Bryant 
made the N. A. A. record for the American 
Round with a lemonwood bow and Rendtorff 
made his wonderful practice scores with one. 

In selecting a bow, one should string it 
and see that the cord is then parallel to the 
handle. If this be not the case it means that 
one limb is too strong for the other. He 
should then pull the string back about a foot 
and let it go. If the bow give a big kick in 
the hand it shows that the two limbs do not 
return to their normal positions at the same 
moment. Next he should draw the full 
distance and note whether the curve of each 



Equipment 37 

limb be regular and whether the bow gives? 
or bends, in the hand. This latter is a grave 
fault, because the centre of the bow, for 
about eight inches, should not bend at all if 
the bow is to have a good cast. 

Men's bows are six feet long and weigh 
from 35 to 55 pounds. By "weight," is 
meant the tractive force necessary to draw a 
28 inch arrow to the head. Forty-two 
pounds is a good weight for the average man. 
The beginner almost invariably selects too 
strong a bow, not realizing that it is impossible 
to shoot accurately with strained muscles. 

Women's bows are 5 feet 6 inches and 
weigh from 20 to 35 pounds for a 25 inch 
arrow. 

Bracer 

The bracer, or arm-guard, is a piece of 
leather laced to the flexor surface of the fore- 
arm to protect it from the whipping of the 
string. A very satisfactory kind is made of 
harness leather furnished with hooks like 
those on men's shoes. 

FiNGER-TlPS 

The most popular protector for the fingers 
is made by reinforcing the tips of the first 



38 American Archery 

three fingers of an ordinary suede glove with 
pieces of thin, but stiff, leather. 

Leather thimbles are preferred by some and 
are satisfactory if care be taken to get a 
perfect fit. The best kind has the end left 
open and the part over the finger nail cut 
away. 

Strings 

Before the war the best strings came from 
Germany and Belgium. At present it is 
necessary to use domestic strings, which are 
manufactured according to the directions 
given by Maxson elsewhere in this book. 

Quiver 

Quivers are almost indispensable for women 
and are preferred by many men because of 
their cleanliness. All the patterns usually 
sold are satisfactory. 

Many archers prefer to lay their arrows on 
a stool, or rack, in front of them, or to stand 
them in a vase. The heavy glass discs, 
perforated with several holes for holding 
separate flower stems, serve admirably. The 
holders made for surf-casting rods do very 
well. 



Equipment 39 

Target Stands 

These are simply made of three pieces of 
one inch by three inch white pine, with a 
loose bolt, or pintle, through them near the 
top. The outer staves are 6 feet long and 
the middle 6 feet 6 inches. They can be 
spread out to form a tripod to hang the 
target on. The string is simply thrown over 
the top, no special hook being necessary. 

The iron stands sold by most dealers are 
pernicious in the extreme. They break the 
arrows almost constantly and should never 
be used. 

Target 

The target must be up to the full size of 
4 feet in width and 4 inches in thickness. It 
should be well tested with the finger to see 
that the straw is thick and hard at every 
"point, as a target'that is soft, or loosely wrapped, 
is wholly useless. 

The face should be painted in dull colors 
that will not glisten in the sun, and the red 
and blue rings should be in pale shades so 
that the arrows can be seen in them easily. 



40 American Archery 



CHAPTER IV 
Hints To Beginners 
By Samuel G. McMeen 

THE best one hint to a beginner is : Follow 
the methods laid down by Dr. Elmer in 
the chapters in this book on correct archery 
and equipment. 

There are a few points not touched upon 
by the authorities, however, on which one 
beginner perhaps may best be taught by an- 
other. It is probably for that reason that this 
chapter was assigned to the present writer. 

One of these is the trouble of the arrow 
falling from the knuckle of the left hand as 
the latter is lifted to the shooting position 
and the draw is begun. The advice usually 
given to the novice on this point by the 
experienced archer is: "Keep on trying; that 
trouble will disappear in time. I used to be 
bothered by it years ago, but not for very 
long." Probably true, but not of much use 
to the beginner. 

The writer's belief is that this falling of the 
arrow from the left hand is due to the failure 



Hints to Beginners 41 

of the first finger of the right hand to pull 
hard enough on the string, and to the con- 
sequent pressure of that forefinger downward 
on the arrow when the latter is in the hori- 
zontal position. That is, the string tends to 
pull the drawing fingers of the beginner into 
a full V with the nock of the arrow at the 
apex, while the fingers of the trained archer 
resist the string more fully and hold their 
portion of it more nearly vertical. 

The remedy is to force the forefinger of 
the drawing hand to do its work. An expedi- 
ent of help while that finger is getting trained, 
is to place the forefinger on the string a 
sensible distance from the arrow at the time 
of nocking, and so to prevent the pinching of 
the arrow that brings on the trouble of its 
sliding from the bow-hand knuckle. Make 
the forefinger do its work. 

Another trouble of the beginner is that the 
side of the right forefinger next to the second 
finger develops soreness and perhaps a bHster. 
To avoid this, consciously set that finger a 
little distance from the arrow at the time of 
nocking; use surgical tape on the tender part 
of the finger; if the will cannot control the 
muscles, fasten a bit of cork to the glove 



42 American Archery 

between those two fingers so that they must 
keep a Httle apart. Also, make the forefinger 
do its work. 

Hold the breath during the acts of aiming 
and loosing. 

Learn as early as you can what is meant by 
the "point of aim." It is not an abstruse 
subject. Some beginners practice it naturally 
from the outset. The whole subject may be 
said to be the art of hitting the target better 
by looking at something else than at the gold. 

There is for an archer, with given equip- 
ment, only one distance at which on a calm 
day the point of the arrow will be directly 
between his right eye and the gold. That 
distance is more likely to be eighty yards 
than any other of the standard target dis- 
tances. If it be eighty yards, and he shoot 
correctly in all other particulars, he can soon 
become a better archer at that distance than 
he is at a greater or less distance, unless 
he masters the point of aim. This he may 
do readily, if he will merely hold the point 
of the arrow between the right eye and some 
other object than the gold when shooting at 
distances other than the single one here 
assumed. At the greater distances, the point 



Hints to Beginners 43 

of aim of most archers Is above the target. 
At all the distances of the American Round, 
the point of aim is on the ground in front of 
the target for all archers who draw to the 
bottom of the chin or below it. 

Master the point of aim early in your 
career. See it by direct vision, and the gold 
by indirect. See that the arrow lies in the 
line to both the point of aim and the gold, 
unless wind-allowance is required. Keep the 
point of aim directly between you and the 
gold, unless wind-allowance is being made. 
If in doubt that you are standing in the right 
place to meet the last-named caution, hold 
your bow at arm's length so as to make a 
plumb-line of the string, and see if the latter 
cuts both the gold and the point of aim. You 
will be surprised at the untruths your eyes 
tell you. Check them up from time to time. 

When a point of aim is established on a 
certain day and for a certain set of arrows 
and a certain bow and the certain state of 
your nerves and muscles, fix it firmly in mind 
by reference to surrounding objects so that it 
may not be lost or mistaken. 

Have no sharne in using an artificial object 
as a point of aim. Eggshells, gold balls, balls 



44 American Archery 

of paper, dandelions, — all legitimate. The 
ideal is a spherical mirror, smaller than a 
garden gazing-globe and larger than the bulb of 
a thermometer, as such an object reflects the 
image of the sun as a practical point, with no 
real area and with great but not blinding 
brilliance.' 

Make notes of your points of aim at the 
several standard distances. Carry a card with 
marks enabling you to take quick sights with 
the card at arm's length, instantly establishing 
the distance between the gold and the point 
of aim. Watch the first few arrows to see if 
the point is true under today's conditions. 

Bows' strengths vary as the temperature 
rises and falls. Higher points of aim are 
necessary with the same bow on warmer 
days. Watch this. 

To what exact point do you draw the nock 
end of the arrow .f* There have been cham- 
pions who confessed they did not know, but 
they have no particular pride In that. The 
nock end of the arrow must be drawn to a 
point directly below the right eye, but that 
point may vary considerably in height. Find 
the one spot where the nature of your anatomy 
Is best suited, and draw always to that spot. 



Hints to Beginners 45 

Decide for yourself, after full and careful 
trial, whether your form is best when gripping 
the bow-handle rigidly, or by the lower 
fingers of the left hand only, the upper part 
of the hand relaxed. When this Is deter- 
mined, follow the successful method to the 
complete exclusion of all others. Whatever 
the nature of the bow-hand grip, keep the 
left arm rigid at the instant of the loose. 

Happy is the archer who has trained his 
left arm so as to make an arm-guard (bracer) 
unnecessary. Except for deformed anato- 
mies, that training is possible. If the string 
touch anything but the nock of the arrow 
after leaving the fingers, that shot is im- 
paired. Therefore: String your bow fully, — 
with due caution. Let the bracer, if you must 
use one, be of thin, firm, smooth leather. 
Watch its upper edge, that the string does not 
strike that. 

Score your shooting and PRESERVE 
YOUR SCORES. 

Not many archers can shoot without a 
glove or tips for the drawing hand. Make 
your own. A good way is to sew horsehide 
to the tips of the fingers of a kid glove. The 
kid need not be heavy. If the combination 



46 American Archery 

of the kid and horsehide is not thick enough, 
put parchment cut from the edge of your 
High School diploma between the kid and 
the horsehide. For the third finger, if it be 
tender, use a slip of quill instead of the parch- 
ment. Pare its edges. Slip in the quill or 
parchment after sewing all but the lower edge 
of the tip. 

Use a round stick as a form inside the 
glove finger in sewing on the tips. Sew with 
fine silk thread, using several strands, waxed, 
taking close, small stitches. Let the horse- 
hide cover three-fourths of the circumference 
of the glove finger. 




National Constitution 47 



CHAPTER V 

Constitution of the National Archery 
Association of the United States 

1. This organization shall be known as the 
National Archery Association of the 
United States of America. 

2. The objects of the Association shall be to 
encourage the practice of archery and 
to arrange, each year, a Tournament to 
determine the archery championships of 
the United States. 

3. The officers of the Association shall be a 
President, three Vice-presidents and a 
Secretary-Treasurer. 

4. There shall be an Executive Committee, 
consisting of the five officers and four 
other members, of which the President 
shall be chairman. It shall have full 
control of the business and property of 
the Association, except when the Associa- 
tion is assembled in its Annual Business 
Meeting. 

5. The officers, and the other members of 
the Executive Committee, shall assume 



48 American Archery 

the functions of office within thirty 
days after their election and shall hold 
office until the qualification of their 
successors. 

6. All records, fully completed, and the 
properly audited accounts, together with 
the -funds and all other property of the 
Association, shall be turned over to the 
newly elected officers within thirty days 
after the close of the Annual Tourna- 
ment. 

7. A vacant office may be filled by a vote 
of a majority of the Executive Com- 
mittee. 

8. Anyone may be admitted to membership 
in the Association if recommended by a 
member in good standing and approved 
by the President and Secretary-Treas- 
urer. 

9. An application for membership must be 
accompanied by a Membership Fee of 
three dollars and an Annual Due of two 
dollars, which will be returned if the 
applicant be not accepted. 

10. A member may be expelled by a vote of 
a majority of those present at an Annual 
Business Meeting. 



National Constitution 49 

11. Anyone may be elected to Life Member- 
ship, without dues, by a special vote at 
an Annual Business Meeting, 

12. The Annual Due for each member shall 
be two dollars. 

13. A member shall be suspended at the end 
of a fiscal year for non-payment of the 
dues of that year. He may be reinstated 
at any time by paying either his lapsed 
dues or the initiation fee, as he may 
prefer, together with the dues of the 
year in which his reinstatement occurs. 

14. The fiscal year shall end at midnight of 
the last day of the Annual Tournament. 

15. On being originally admitted to member- 
ship one shall pay a Membership Fee 
of three dollars. 

16. The Association shall hold an Annual 
Tournament, between the 15th of July 
and the 15th of September, each Year. 
This Tournament shall be to determine 
the Archery championships of the United 
States and for such other forms of prac- 
tice and competition in archery as are 
directed by the Executive Committee. 

17. Before a member may participate in an 
Annual Tournament he must pay a 



50 American Archery 

target fee of three dollars and must be 
free of all indebtedness to the Associa- 
tion, including the dues for the current 
year. 
i8. The Association shall hold an Annual 
Business Meeting during the Annual 
Tournament. At this meeting the officers 
and other members of the Executive 
Committee for the ensuing year shall be 
elected, the place for the next Annual 
Tournament decided upon and any other 
business transacted. 

19. The Annual Tournament shall be under 
the supervision of the Executive Com- 
mittee, which shall be represented by a 
Field-Captain. When possible the Presi- 
dent shall be Field-Captain, but, if he 
cannot serve, the Executive Committee 
shall appoint one of the archers present. 

20. The Field-Captain may appoint, to assist 
him, as many other general field officers 
as he may deem necessary. 

21. At each target one archer shall be ap- 
pointed by the Field-Captain to be 
Target Captain and another to be Scorer. 

22. The following events for men must be 
shot at each Annual Tournament: 



National ConsHtution 51 

The Double York Round, consisting of 
144 arrows at 100 yards 

96 " " 80 " 

48 " " 60 " 
The Double American Round, consisting 
of 

60 arrows at 60 yards 

60 " " SO " 

60 " " 40 " 
The Team Round for Men, consisting of 

96 arrows at 60 yards. 
The Flight Shoot for Men, consisting of 
3 shots, not necessarily with different 
arrows. 
23. The following events for women must be 
shot at each Annual Tournament: 
The Double National Round, consisting 
of 

96 arrows at 60 yards 

48 " " 50 " 
The Double Columbia Round, consisting 
of 

48 arrows at 50 yards 

48 " " 40 " 

48 " " 30 " 
The Team Round for Women, consisting of 

96 arrows at 50 yards. 



52 American Archery 

The Flight Shoot for Women, consisting 
of 

3 shots, not necessarily with different 

arrows. 

24. Other events may be added at the dis- 
cretion of the Executive Committee. 

25. Any kind of bow, except a cross-bow, and 
any kind of arrow, may be used in any 
event. 

25. The face of the target shall consist of a 
central disk, 9^0 inches in diameter, 
and four concentric rings, each 4K0 
inches in width, painted, respectively, 
from within out, gold, red, blue, black 
and white. 

27. The value of the colors shall be: Gold-9, 
Red-7, Blue-5, Black-3, White-i. 

28. If an arrow cut two colors it shall count 
as having hit the inner one. 

29. The targets shall be placed on easels, the 
center of the gold being four feet from 
the ground. 

30. An arrow must remain in the target 
until recorded by the scorer. 

31. An arrow rebounding from, or passing 
through, the scoring face of the target 
shall count as one hit and five in value. 



National Constitution 53 

32. Each archer shall shoot, at one time, six 
arrows, called an "end." Unless ex- 
cused by his target captain he shall 
shoot three, yield place to his target 
mates and then, in his turn, shoot the 
other three. 

33. The arrows of each archer must bear a 
distinctive mark. 

34. Every arrow leaving the bow shall be 
deemed as having been shot if the archer, 
while standing within the line from which 
he has been shooting, cannot reach it 
with his bow. This rule is void if either 
the bow, string or arrow break during 
the shot. 

35. A hit, or hits, made by an archer on a 
target not assigned to him shall not be 
counted. 

36. All disputes shall be referred to the 
captain of the target at which they arise. 
From him an appeal may be taken to the 
Field-Captain, whosedecision shall befinal. 

37. The Champion Archer of the United 
States shall be the archer who, in an 
Annual Tournament, has the highest 
result obtained by adding together the 
scores and hits of his Double York and 



54 American Archery 

Double American Rounds. In case of 
a tie the archer with the greatest score 
wins. In case of a second tie the archer 
with the greatest score in the York 
Round wins. 

38. Any woman, wishing to compete for the 
Championship of the United States or 
for the other titles competed for by the 
men, may shoot as a man, being subject 
to all the rules and conditions imposed 
on the men. 

39. No man may compete in the events for 
women. 

40. The Champion Woman Archer of the 
United States shall be the woman who, 
in an Annual Tournament, has the 
highest result obtained by adding to- 
gether the scores and hits of her Double 
National and Double Columbia Rounds. 
In case of a tie the woman with the 
greatest score wins. In case of a second 
tie the woman with the greatest score in 
the Double National Round wins. 

41. The word ''Champion" shall be applied 
to none but these two. 

42. The Winner of the Double York Round 
shall be the archer who has the highest 



National Constitution 55 

result obtained by adding together hits 
and score. In case of a tie the archer 
with the highest score wins. In case of a 
second tie the archer with the highest 
score at 100 yards wins. 

43. The Winner of the Double American 
Round shall be the archer who has the 
highest score. In case of a tie the archer 
with the most hits wins. In case of a 
second tie the archer with the highest 
score at 60 yards wins. 

44. No archer shall be allowed to shoot the 
first and second rounds of the Double 
American and Double York upon the 
same target. 

45. The Winning Team of Men shall be the 
team of four archers, who must have been 
members of the same archery club for at 
least one month, which has the greatest 
aggregate score in the Team Contest. 
Three men may shoot as a team but their 
scores must count against those made 
by the four-men teams if any such com- 
pete. In case of a tie the team with the 
most hits wins. In case of a second tie 
the honors are divided. 



56 American Archery 

46. The Winner of the Flight Shoot for Men 
shall be the man, or woman, who shoots 
an arrow the greatest distance. In case 
of a tie another arrow shall be shot. 

47. The Winner of the Double National 
Round shall be the woman who has the 
highest result obtained by adding to- 
gether hits and score. In case of a tie 
the woman with the highest score wins. 
In case of a second tie the woman with 
the highest score at 60 yards wins. 

48. The Winner of the Double Columbia 
Round shall be the woman who has the 
highest score. In case of a tie the woman 
with the most hits wins. In case of a 
second tie the woman with the highest 
score at 50 yards wins. 

49. The Winning Team of Women shall be 
the team of four women, who must 
have been members of the same archery 
club for at least one month, which has 
the greatest aggregate score in the Team 
Contest. Three women may shoot as a 
team but their scores must count against 
those made by the four-women teams if 
any such compete. In case of a tie the 



National Constitution 57 

team with the most hits wins. In case 
of a second tie the honors are divided. 
The Winner of the FHght Shoot for 
Women shall be the woman who shoots 
an arrow the greatest distance. In case 
of a tie another arrow shall be shot. 
All prizes that are competed for at an 
Annual Tournament shall be awarded 
at an Annual Business Meeting or at an 
adjournment thereof. Those prizes that 
are the permanent property of the Asso- 
ciation may be kept by their winners 
until 15 days before the next Annual 
Tournament, at which time they must 
be returned to ^e Secretary-Treasurer. 
The Prizes for Men which are the per- 
manent property of the Association shall 
be awarded as follows: 
The York Medal to the Winner of the 
Double York Round. 
The American Medal to the Winner of 
the Double American Round. 
The 100 Yard Range Medal for the 
greatest score at 100 yards, barring the 
Champion and the Winners of the Double 
York and Double American Rounds. 
The 80 Yard Range Medal for the great- 



58 American Archery 

est score at 80 yards, barring the Cham- 
pion, the Winners of the Double York 
and Double American Rounds and the 
Winner of the 100 Yard Range Medal. 
The 60 Yard Range Medal for the great- 
est gross score at 60 yards in the Double 
York, the Double American and the 
Team Rounds, barring the Champion, 
the Winners of the Double York and 
Double American Rounds and the Win- 
ners of the medals for the longer ranges. 
The 50 Yard Range Medal for the great- 
est score at 50 yards, barring the Cham- 
pion, the Winners of the Double York 
and Double American Rounds and the 
Winners of the medals for the longer 
ranges. 

The 40 Yard Range Medal for the great- 
est score at 40 yards, barring the Cham- 
pion, the winners of the Double York and 
Double American Rounds and the Win- 
ners of the medals for the longer ranges. 
The Maurice Thompson Medal for the 
greatest score at 100 yards. 
The Spalding Medal for Men for the 
most Golds in the Double York Round. 
The Potomac Medal for the greatest 



National Constitution 59 

score in the Team Round, whether the 

archer be a member of a team or 

not. 

The Pearsall Bugle to the Winning Team 

of Men. 

The Duff Arrow to the man, in his first 

National Tournament, who makes the 

greatest score in the Double American 

Round, 

The Ovington Beaker to the Winner of 

the FHght Shoot, 

The Jiles Cup to the man whose total 

obtained by adding together the hits 

and scores of his Double York and 

Double American Rounds shall show 

the greatest improvement over his similar 

total at the last National Tournament 

in which he took part. No scores more 

than 2 years old shall be counted. 

The Clan McLeod Cup to the Winner 

of any Novelty Shoot that the Executive 

Committee may place on the program. 

The Elmer Wooden Spoon to the man 

who, having shot through the whole 

of the Double York and Double American 

Rounds, shall have the lowest score in 

them. 



6o American Archery 

53. The Prizes for Women which are the 
permanent property of the Association 
shall be awarded as follows: 
The National Medal to the Winner of 
the Double National Round. 
The Columbia Medal to the Winner of 
the Double Columbia Round. 
The 60 Yard Range Medal for the great- 
est score at 60 yards, barring the Cham- 
pion and the Winners of the Double 
National and Double Columbia Rounds. 
The 50 Yard Range Medal for the great- 
est score at 50 yards in the Double 
National, Double Columbia and Team 
Rounds, barring the Champion, the Win- 
ners of the Double National and Double 
Columbia Rounds and the Winner of 
the 60 yard Range Medal. 
The 40 Yard Range Medal for the great- 
est score at 40 yards, barring the Cham- 
pion, the Winners of the Double Na- 
tional and Double Columbia Rounds and 
the Winners of the medals for the longer 
ranges. 

The 30 Yard Range Medal for the great- 
est score at 30 yards, barring the Cham- 
pion, the Winners of the Double Na- 



National Constitution 6i 

tional and Double Columbia Rounds and 

the Winners of the medals for the longer 

ranges. 

The Spalding Medal for Women for the 

most Golds in the Double National 

Round. 

The Peacock Cup to the Winning Team 

of Women. 

The Maid Marian Arrow to the Archer, 

in her first National Tournament, who 

makes the greatest score in the Double 

Columbia Round. 

The Sidway Medal to the Winner of the 

Flight Shoot. 

The Jessop Trophy to the Winner of the 

Wand Shoot. 

The C. C. Beach Junior Brooch to the 

girl under i8 who makes the greatest 

score in the Double Columbia Round. 

If no archer fulfills these requirements it 

shall be awarded to the youngest woman 

present, no matter what her score may be. 

The Dallin Medal in Gold shall be given 

outright to the two Champions but to 

no one else. 

The Dallin Medal in Silver or Bronze 

may be given outright to the Winners 



62 American Archery 

of such conditions or events as may have 
been announced by the Executive Com- 
mittee before the beginning of the Tourna- 
ment. 
56. * Special Prizes may be awarded at the 
discretion of the Executive Committee. 

56. All previous constitutions are hereby 
revoked. 

57. This constitution may be altered or 
amended only at an Annual Business 
Meeting of the Association, and by a 
two-thirds majority of those present. 



*NoTE. — The only special prize now in possession of the Associa- 
tion (June, 191 7) is the Weston Trophy, which is not numbered 
among the permanent prizes because it becomes the property of the 
archer who wins it three times in succession. It is awarded as follows: 
The Weston Trophy shall be awarded to the archer, of either sex, 
who makes the most Golds at any one end of six arrows during the 
Tournament. All claims must be accompanied by a record of string 
measurement from the pin-center to the inner edge of each arrow. 




T 



How to Form an Archery Club 63 



CHAPTER VI 

How TO Form an Archery Club 

By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 
HOSE veteran archers who are supposed 



to be authorities on toxophilitic subjects 
are continually asked the question, "How 
can one form an archery club?" Taking 
their experience as a guide, the answer to 
this simple query may be outlined as fol- 
lows. 

The person who wishes to start the club is 
usually one who, for some reason or other, 
has become an enthusiastic archer. In course 
of time he tires of shooting alone and plans 
to create an organization, both for the pleasure 
of companionship and to promote his beloved 
sport. 

How shall he secure active members for it.f* 
This is the one great problem. Archery is a 
sport in which it is so difficult to become 
proficient that, of those who essay a beginning 
only a small proportion persist until they 
acquire enough skill to make shooting a real 
pleasure. 



64 American Archery 

It Is well, therefore, for him to interest as 
many beginners as he can and, to do this, no 
way is so effective as to fit them out and let 
them shoot with equipment loaned for the 
occasion. Some are sure to be fascinated 
sufficiently to wish to continue and, with a 
nucleus of three or four such neophytes, a 
club may safely be started. 

After thus securing the archers a permanent 
range must be found. It may be on the 
grounds of a country club, on the lawn of a 
member or in any available field. Of course 
the more agreeable the surroundings the easier 
it is to lengthen the roll of members. Prefer- 
ably the range should be at least 120 yards 
long, so that the York Round may be shot, 
but, in many cases, it is not possible to get 
more than the 80 yards required for the 
American and National Rounds. Nearby 
there should be a place where targets can be 
stored. 

Not more than two officers are necessary, a 
President, who acts ex officio as Field Captain, 
and a Secretary-Treasurer. 

The actual shooting should follow the rules 
laid down in the Constitution of the National 
Archery Association, except that in small 



Hozv to Form "an Archery Club ' ' 65 

matches several archers usually toe the line 
simultaneously and use all six arrows at 
once, instead of three, in order to save 
time. 

Dues should be sufficient to provide for 
the purchase of new targets each year, and to 
pay for keeping up the range. Small entrance 
fees for stated matches and tournaments will 
furnish money for prizes. 

To maintain interest there is nothing better 
than the holding of frequent matches between 
the individuals of the club and, when possible, 
with teams from other clubs. The contests 
for individuals may be scratch events when 
the archers are fairly equal in skill but, as a 
general rule, more fun can be had by handi- 
capping each one according to his ability. 
Various methods of arranging handicaps are 
in use. Some clubs take as a basis the last 
score, some strike an average of three or 
more recent performances and some handicap 
on the best mark the archer has ever made. 
In the last case most of the cards handed in 
will be minus, but the incentive to do one's 
best is constant and there is no chance for an 
individual to win merely because he has had 
a recent slump. 



66 American Archery 

Of course, as in any other undertaking, 
many problems of a local nature will arise 
which must be decided by one's own judg- 
ment but, if the founder of the club will be 
guided by these hints and, more particularly, 
by the Constitution of the National Archery 
Association he will probably be able to start 
a successful and permanent organization. 




Highest American Records 



67 



CHAPTER VII 

Highest Official American Records 

Made in Annual Tournaments of the National 
Archery Association 

By Dr. Edward B. Weston 



Single York Round 


Hits-Score 


Place 


Date 


H. B. Richardson 


116- 566 


Chicago 


1910 


Double York Round 








H. B. Richardson 


231-1111 


Chicago 


1910 


Single American Round 








G. P. Bryant 


90- 618 


Boston 


1912 


Double American Round 








G. P. Bryant 


177-1153 


Boston 


1912 


Men's Team Round 








Individual 








G. P. Bryant 


92- 556 


Boston 


1912 


Team of 4 Men 








Chicago Archery Association, 


Chicago 


1907 


A. E. Spink 


87- 461 






H. S. Taylor 


89- 417 






W. H. Thompson 


89- 413 






C. C. Beach 


8s- 389 
250-1680 






Flight Shoot, Men 








L. W. Maxson 


290 yards 


Natural Bridge, Va. 


1891 


Single National Round 








Mrs. M. C. Howell 


68- 398 


Dayton 


1895 


Double National Round 








Mrs. M. C. Howell 


132- 756 


Dayton 


1895 



68 



American Archery 



Single Columbia Round 










Miss C. M. Wesson 


72- 


Sio 


Chicago 


191S 


Double Columbia Round 










Miss Cynthia M. Wesson 


144- 


998 


Chicago 


191S 


Women's Team Round 










Individual 










Mrs. M. C. Howell 


91- 


507 


Dayton 


1893 


Team of 4 Women 










Wayne Archers 










Miss Wesson 


94- 


482 






Mrs. Trout 


86- 


412 






Mrs. Dunlap 


68- 


330 






Mrs. Elmer 


47- 


181 







295-1405 Haverford 1914 

Flight Shoot, Women 

Mrs. G. P. Bryant 25 1 yards yV foot Boston 1913 




Best English Scores 69 



CHAPTER VIII 

The Best English Scores 

By Dr. Edward B. Weston 

SINCE the beginning of the five pubHc 
meetings in England, in 1853, there have 
been made only 17 double York round scores 
of over 1000, two of them being over iioo 
and one over 1200. These three high scores 
were made by Ford, the only archer who has 
made in public a higher score than our Henry 
B. Richardson who, in 1910, scored 231-1111. 
The complete list follows: 

Grand National Leamington 

1854 H.A.Ford 234-1074 1856 H.A.Ford 244-1162 

1857 H.A.Ford 245-1 251 (World's 1857 H.A.Ford 230-1026 

1858 H.A.Ford 214-1076 Record) 1858 H.A.Ford 230-1128 
1867 H. A. Ford 215-1037 1861 H. A. Ford 212-1014 

1868 H. A. Ford 219-1087 

1869 H. A. Ford 220-1030 

Great Western Southern Counties 

1870 C.H.Fisher 225-1033 1905 J. B. Keysworth 216-1016 
1872 C. H. Fisher 218-1060 
1886 C. E. Nesham 202-1022 

Crystal Palace 

1882 H. H. Palairet 221-1025 

1893 F. A. Govett 214-1004 

1901 C. E. Nesham 217-1027 



JO American Archery 

From 1883 to the present time the cham- 
pionship score at the Grand National has 
been as high as 900 only five times, Mr. C. E. 
Nesham making four of the scores, one of 
which, for 1886, is given above, and Mr. 
Fisher making the other. 

As is indicated by the above records, Mr. 
Ford was by far the best archer produced by 
England within historically authentic times. 
His private scores are far ahead of those made 
in the great public meetings and, up to the 
present time, have not been approached 
dangerously near by anyone. 

His best single York round was shot with 
a yew-backed yew and 5s., 29 inch arrows. 

66-344 47-301 24-164 137-809 

Second best; 

69-371 48-274 24-154 141-799 

Although he does not specifically mention 
the weight of the bows used in these rounds 
it is elsewhere stated by him that he usually 
shot a 56 pound bow. 

His best double York round, shot privately, 
(Butt's "Ford," p. 281), was: 

61-295 48-306 24-186 133- 787 
63-299 46-278 24-168 133- 745 

266-1532 



Best English Scores 



71 



According to Butt, the best marks he ever 
made at the three ranges are Included in the 
above scores, namely: 







Gold 


Red 


Blue 


Black 


White 


At 100 yards 


69-371 


12 


17 


19 


14 


7 


" 80 " 


48-306 


10 


19 


15 


2 


2 


" 60 " 


24-186 


10 


13 


I 







141-863 

After reading these wonderful scores it 
may possibly be a comfort to young archers 
to learn that Mr. Ford's first appearance at 
the Grand National he made a double York 
round of 101-341. 

Other English archers who have made over 
600 at the single York round are: 

Capt. A. P. Moore 133-691 Private practice. 

John Bramhall 125-675 25th November, 1851. 

G. E. S. Fryer 127-639 Practice at Royal Toxophilite 

Society. 
C. E. Nesham 128-632 Private practice at Bournemouth. 

14 May, 1883. 
E. A.. Holmes 134-622 Private practice at Harrow. 1867. 

C. J. Perry-Keene 126-604 Private practice. 24 July, 1886. 

In shooting the double national round 
many ladies have passed the 700 mark; but 
few have made 800, as shown on the follow- 
ing page: 



72 



American Archery 



Grand National 




Leamington 




1892 Miss Legh 


140-804 


1885 Mrs. Piers F. Legh 


142-864 


1894 Mrs. C. Bowley 


133-823 


1888 Miss Legh 


141-817 


1898 Miss Legh 


143-825 


1895 Miss Legh (World's 
Record) 


142-866 


1902 Miss Legh 


137-813 


1900 Miss B. M. Legh 


138-824 


1903 Miss Legh 


142-802 


1903 Miss Legh 


140-800 


1904 Miss Legh 


143-841 


1906 Miss Legh 


141-803 


1905 Miss Legh 


141-807 


1907 Miss Q. Newall 


133-801 


1907 Miss Legh 


143-809 


1908 Miss Legh 


138-808 


191 1 Miss Q. Newall 


141-803 


(The Leghs were three 
ladies.) 


different 


Grand Western 




Crystal Palace 




1 88 1 Miss Legh 


144-840 


1885 Miss Legh 


143-809 


1910 Miss Wadsworth 


139-807 


1890 Miss Legh 


142-862 






1893 Mrs. C. Bowley 


140-822 



It would seem that, in comparing the skill 
of the past and present great archers, Miss 
Legh should be ranked the equal of Mr. Ford. 




National Association Records 



73 



CHAPTER IX 

Records of the National Archery 
Association of the United States 

By Dr. Edward B. Weston 

DOUBLE YORK ROUND 





100 yards 


80 yards 


60 yards 


Total 


1879 


W. H. Thompson 


70-236 


63-233 


39-155 


172-624 


1880 


L. L. Peddinghaus 


55-221 


56-274 


41-21 I 


152-708 


I88I 


F. H. Walworth 


67-261 


64-262 


42-240 


173-763 


1882 


H. S. Taylor 


55-151 


67-275 


46-252 


168-678 (a) 


1883 


R. Williams, Jr. 


76-300 


79-371 


44-236 


199-907 


1884 


W. H. Thompson 


63-237 


68-314 


43-209 


174-760 


1885 


R. Williams, Jr. 


91-357 


78-360 


46-278 


215-995 


1886 


W. A. Clark 


43-195 


72-298 


43-225 


158-718 


1887 


W. A. Clark 


42-134 


64-244 


43-201 


149-579 


1888 


W. H. Thompson 


66-244 


71-309 


38-180 


175-733 (b) 


1889 


L. W. Maxson 


66-220 


68-308 


46-238 


180-766 


1890 


L. W. Maxson 


62-252 


59-231 


45-235 


166-718 


I89I 


L. W. Maxson 


53-197 


66-304 


44-218 


163-719 


1892 


L. W. Maxson 


58-216 


72-310 


42-196 


172-722 


1893 


L. W. Maxson 


59-241 


60-220 


45-253 


164-714 


1894 


L. W. Maxson 


58-202 


57-213 


38-184 


153-599 


189s 


W. R. Robinson 


61-283 


67-241 


41-225 


169-749 


1896 


D. F. McGowan 


43-161 


38-132 


37-159 


118-462 


1897 


W. A. Clark 


59-221 


59-223 


41-189 


159-633 


1898 


L. W. Maxson 


61-241 


63-259 


35-277 


159-677 


1899 


M. C. Howell 


51-185 


53-215 


34-170 


138-590 


1900 


A. R. Clark 


59-213 


76-342 


45-205 


180-758 


I90I 


W. H. Thompson 


61-237 


57-229 


45-215 


163-681 



(a) Mr. Taylor won by points, Mr. D. A. Nash making 167 hits, 713 score. 

(b) Mr. Thompson won by points, Mr. Maxson making 171 hits, 739 score. 



74 



American Archery 





100 yards 


80 yards 


60 yards 


Total 


1902 


R. Williams, Jr. 


56-212 


56-228 


38-172 


150-612 


1903 


W. Bryant 


50-212 


66-240 


41-201 


157-653 


1904 


G. P. Bryant 


79-281 


67-293 


46-246 


192-820 


1905 


G. P. Bryant 


72-274 


59-259 


41-183 


172-716 


1906 


H. B. Richardson 


81-331 


79-367 


41-193 


201-891 


1907 


H. B. Richardson 


73-307 


66-312 


45-241 


184-860 


1908 


W. H. Thompson 


88-362 


78-368 


45-243 


211-973 


1909 


G. P. Bryant 


102-402 


80-330 


45-243 


227-975 


I9I0 


H. B. Richardson 


96-400 


89-445 


46-265 


231-1111 


I9II 


H. S. Taylor 


78-338 


63-259 


40-228 


181-835 


I9I2 


G. P. Bryant 


105-435 


78-374 


47-285 


230-1094 


I9I3 


Dr. J. W. Doughty 66-282 


66-254 


46-266 


178-802 (c) 


I9I4 


Dr.. R. P. Elmer 


58-238 


58-270 


46-256 


162-764 


I9IS 


H. L. Walker 


49-183 


60-262 


43-221 


152-666 


I9I6 


Dr. R. P. Elmer 


90-390 


74-364 


46-266 


210-1020 



(c) Dr. Doughty won by points, Mr. G. P. Bryant making 176 hits, 832 see re 

DOUBLE AMERICAN ROUND 



88s 



891 
892 

893 
894 

895 
896 
897 



Col. R. Williams, 
Col. R. Williams, 
Col. R. Williams, 
W. A. Clark 
W. A. Clark 
L. W. Maxson 
J. T. Shawan 
L. W. Maxson 
L. W. Maxson 
L. W. Maxson 
L. W. Maxson 
J. Benckenstein 
L. W. Maxson 
L. W. Maxson 
W. A. Clark 
J. L. Taylor 
W. A. Clark 



60 yards 

Jr. 56-290 

Jr. 57-301 

Jr. 57-295 

59-213 

54-266 

59-277 
52-256 

51-255 
54-244 
57-287 
60-324 
50-240 
53-287 
54-272 
48-208 
50-246 
46-234 



50 yards 40 yards Total 



60-392 
50-356 
60-356 
60-388 
60-342 
56-280 
59-315 
59-341 
60-362 

60-354 
57-323 
60-292 

59-325 
56-306 
54-284 
57-315 



60-404 

59-367 
60-404 
60-396 
60-384 
60-404 
60-380 
60-400 
60-402 
60-400 
58-336 
59-339 
60-402 
60-364 
57-299 
58-324 



57-265^56-312^ 



176-1086 
176-1024 

177-1055 
179-1097 

174- 992 

175- 961 

171- 951 
170- 996 
174-1008 
177-1041 

175- 983 

169- 871 
172-1014 

170- 942 

159- 791 
165- 885 
159- 811 



National Association Records 



75 







60 yards 


SO yards 


40 yards 


Total 


1900 


A.R.Clark 




58-312 


60-338 


59-375 


177-1025 


1 90 1 


C. S. Woodruff 




51-275 


48-248 


60-330 


159- 853 


190?, 


Col. R. Williams 


,Jr. 


50-286 


55-283 


59-361 


164- 930 


1903 


Col. R. Williams 


,Jr. 


53-251 


58-298 


59-345 


170- 878 


1904 


G. P. Bryant 




56-270 


60-366 


60-412 


176-1048 


1 90s 


C. C. Beach 




56-280 


58-354 


60-372 


174-1006 


1906 


H. B. Richardson 


59-331 


59-341 


60-380 


178-1052 


1907 


Col. R. Williams 


,Jr. 


56-296 


59-333 


60-380 


175-1009 


1908 


Col. R. Williams 


,Jr. 


52-282 


58-336 


59-389 


169-1007 


1909 


G. P. Bryant 




56-322 


60-380 


60-416 


176-1118 


I9I0 


' H. B. Richardson 


59-291 


58-362 


60-406 


177-1059 


I9II 


Dr. R« P. Elmer 




56-362 


59-361 


60-418 


175-1041 


I9I2 


G. P. Bryant 




58-338 


59-373 


60-442 


177-1153 


I9I3 


Dr. R. P. Elmer 




54-248 


57-329 


59-423 


170-1000 


I9I4 


Dr. R. P. Elmer 




5^312 


60-332 


60-408 


176-1052 


I9IS 


Dr. R. P. Elmer 




57-299 


60-364 


60-412 


177-1075 


I9I6 


i Dr. R. P. Elmer 




54-306 


59-359 


60-400 


173-1065 




Rank of the Winners of the Double York Round 




Times . 


Av. Winning 


Highest 


Av. All 


No. 




Winner 


Scores 


Score 


Scores 


Contests 


I. 


Richardson 3 


207- 


- 955 


231-1111 


164- 704 


8 


2. 


G.P.Bryant 4 


205- 


- 901 


230-1094 


188- 828 


7 


3- 


Elmer 2 


186- 892 


210-1020 


171- 761 


6 


4- 


Williams 3 


i88- 


- 838 


215- 995 


166- 716 


14 


5- 


Doughty I 


178- 


- 802 


178- 802 


178- 802 


I 


6. 


Walworth i 


173- 


-763 


173- 763 


159- 677 


2 


7. A. R .Clark i 


180- 758 


180- 758 


164- 702 


2 


8. 


H. S. Taylor 2 


179- 


- 757 


181- 83s 


163- 691 


14 


9- 


Thompson 5 


178- 


- 754 


211- 973 


162- 680 


18 


10. 


Robinson i 


169- 


- 749 


169- 749 


155- 629 


2 


II. 


Peddinghaus I 


152- 


- 708 


152- 708 


123- 537 


2 


12. 


Maxson 7 


166 


- 702 


180- 766 


136- 564 


17 


13- 


Walker i 


IS2- 


- 666 


152- 666 






14. 


W. A. Clark 3 


iss- 


- 643 


158- 718 


125- 507 


IS 


IS- 


Howell I 


138- 


- 590 


138- 590 


118- 492 


10 


16. 


McGowan i 


Ii8- 


- 462 


146- 544 


106- 410 


10 



76 American Archery 





Rank of the 


Winners of the Double 


American Round 




Times 


Av.Winnii 


Qg Highest 


Av. All 


No. 




Winner 


Scores 


Score 


Scores 


Contests 


I. 


G. P. Bryant 


3 


176-1102 


177-1153 


169- 991 


7 


2. 


Richardson 


2 


177-10SS 


177-1059 


178- 846 


8 


3- 


Elmer 


S 


174-1046 


177-1075 


174-1050 


6 


4- 


A. R. Clark 


I 


177-1025 


177-1025 


164- 622 


4 


5- 


Williams 


6 


174-1008 


176-1086 


169- 919 


II 


6. 


Beach 


I 


174-1006 


174-1006 


163- 886 


II 


7- 


Maxson 


7 


174- 992 


177-1041 


161- 855 


19 


8. 


Shawan 


I 


171- 951 


171- 951 


162- 862 


4 


9- 


W. A. Clark 


4 


168- 898 


179-1097 


159- 827 


23 


10. 


J. L. Taylor 


I 


165- 885 


165- 885 


151- 749 


7 


II. 


Benckenstein 


I 


169- 871 


169- 871 


139- 657 


8 


12. 


Woodruff 


I 


159- 853 


171- 933 


160- 820 


6 



Champions 
Men 
1879-1914 The Winner of the Double York Round. 

1915 Dr. R. P. Elmer Score 2012 

1916 Dr. R. P. Elmer Score 2468 
Women 

1879-1880 The Winner of the Double Columbia Round. 
1881-1914 The Winner of the Double National Round. 

1915 Miss C. M. Wesson Score 1980 

1916 Miss C. M. Wesson Score 1692 

TEAM CONTEST FOR MEN 

(4 a side) 
American Round 

1879 Wabash Merry Bowmen, Crawfordsville, Ind. 302-1508 

1880 Marietta Archers, Marietta, Ohio 314-1640 

1881 College Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 315-1611 

Team Round 

1882 College Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 309-1435 

1883 Highland Archery Club, Wyoming, Ohio 294-1332 

1884 Battle Creek Archery Club, Battle Creek, Mich. 315-1428 



National Association Records 



77 



Team Round — Continued. 

1885 Highland Archery Club, Wyoming, Ohio 

1886 Highland Archery Club, Wyoming, Ohio 

1887 Brooklyn Archery Club, Brooklyn, N. Y. 

1888 Highland Archery Club, Wyoming, Ohio 

1889 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1890 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1891 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1892 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1893 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1894 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. No other 

team present. 

1895 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1896 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. 

1897 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. 

1898 Highland Archery Club, Wyoming, Ohio 

1899 Highland Archery Club, Wyoming, Ohio 

1900 Highland Archery Club, Wyoming, Ohio 

1 901 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. 

1902 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. 

1903 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. 

1904 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. 

1905 Chicago Archery Club 

1906 Boston Archers 

1907 Chicago Archery Club 

1908 Chicago Archery Club 

1909 Boston Archers 

1910 Chicago Archery Club 

191 1 Chicago Archery Club 

19 1 2 Boston Archers 

1913 Boston Archers 

1914 Wayne Archers, Wayne, Pa. 

19 1 5 Stopped by rain at the end of the first half, with the 

Wayne Archers in the lead 

1916 Keystone Archers 342-1582 



327-1509 
285-1283 

301-1349 
316-1636 
291-1367 
314-1486 
283-1307 
311-1367 
297-1383 



286-1294 
252-1086 

297-1335 
284-1314 
275-1181 
306-1334 
296-1314 

287-1343 
284-1242 
300-1334 
309-1367 
327-1591 
350-1680 
318-1532 
300-1436 
330-1506 
318-1528 
324-1618 
328-1538 
320-1578 



78 American Archery 

FLIGHT SHOOT FOR MEN 

[882 J. Wilkinson, Chicago 

3 No contest 

4 No contest 

5 W. P. Webb, Eaton, Ohio 
5 J. J. Watrous, Cincinnati, Ohio 

7 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 

8 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 

9 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 
[890 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 
[891 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 
[892 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 
[893 C. J. Strong, Cincinnati, Ohio 
[894 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 
[895 G. Benckenstein, Wyoming, Ohio 

5 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 

[897 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 

3 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 

? L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 

1900 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 

[901 R. E. Taylor, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1902 A. E. Whitman, Melrose, Mass. 

1903 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 

1904 L. W. Maxson, Washington, D. C. 

1905 W. Bryant, Boston 
[906 H. S. Taylor, Chicago 
1907 H. B. Richardson, Boston 

5 J. M. Challis, Atchison, Kan. 

[909 Z. E. Jackson, Atchison, Kan. 

[910 H. W. Bishop, Chicago 

[911 Dr. R. P. Elmer, Wayne, Pa. 

1912 G. P. Bryant, Boston 

[913 Dr. R. P. Elmer, Wayne, Pa. 

1914 J. S. Jiles, Pittsburgh 

[915 No contest, on account of rain 

1916 G. P. Bryant, Boston 289 28 



7ards 


Inches 


213 




234 




210 




226 




233 




266 




268 


18 


290 




213 




28s 


18 


253 




247 




250 




240 




247 




224 




251 




230 




244 




246 




259 




241 




230 




218 




232 




245 




213 


8 


270 


9 


229 


24 


260 


12 


234 


K 



National Association Records 



79 





DOUBLE NATIONAL ROUND 








60 yards 


50 yards 


Total 


I88I 


Mrs. A. H. Gibbs 


61-233 


36-160 


97-393 


1882 


Mrs. A. H. Gibbs 


63-251 


38-198 


101-449 


1883 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


85-413 


47-277 


132-690 


1884 


Mrs. H. Hall 


46-204 


42-212 


88-416 


1885 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


75-353 


46-252 


121-605 


1886 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


82-386 


44-238 


126-624 


1887 


Mrs. A. M. Phillips 


83-385 


48-246 


13 1-63 1 


1888 


Mrs. A. M. Phillips 


82-424 


42-258 


124-682 


1889 


Mrs. A. M. Phillips 


89-481 


44-232 


133-713 


1890 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


79-353 


46-226 


125-579 


I89I 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


59-221 


45-243 


104-464 


1892 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


79-353 


48-272 


127-625 


1893 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


84-380 


45-247 


129-627 


1894 


Mrs. A. Kern 


67-343 


45-237 


112-580 


1895 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


86-474 


46-282 


132-756 


1896 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


81-361 


45-249 


126-610 


1897 


Mrs. J. S. Barker 


7c^294 


42-226 


112-520 


1898 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


88-428 


44-210 


130-638 


1899 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


84-426 


46-242 


13(^668 


1900 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


81-387 


44-268 


125-665 


I90I 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


34-146 


33-145 


67-291 


1902 


Mrs. C. S. Woodruff 


82-366 


44-238 


126-604 


1903 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


87-381 


48-272 


135-653 


1904 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


87-417 


43-203 


130-620 


1 90s 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


80-366 


44-204 


124-570 


1906 


Miss E. C. Cooke 


48-180 


34-122 


82-302 


1907 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


78-386 


45-233 


123-619 


1908 


Miss H. A. Case 


60-248 


32-150 


92-398 


1909 


Miss H. A. Case 


79-343 


46-234 


125-577 


I9I0 


Miss J. V. Sullivan 


71-399 


44-230 


115-629 


I9II 


Mrs. J. H. Taylor 


53-197 


41-199 


94-396 


I9I2 


Mrs. J. H. Taylor 


66-304 


46-220 


112-524 


I9I3 


Mrs. P. S. Fletcher 


63-271 


30-106 


93-377 


I9I4 


Mrs. B. P. Gray 


81-387 


46-238 


127-625 


I9IS 


Miss C. M. Wesson 


85-455 


45-253 


130-708 


I9I6 


Miss C. M. Wesson 


80-356 


44-226 


124-582 



8o 



American Archery 





DOUBLE COLUMBIA ROUND 








50 yards 


40 yards 


30 yards 


Totals 


1879 


Mrs. S. Brown 


28-132 


36-152 


46-264 ] 


10-548 


1880 


Mrs. T. Davis 


30-112 


37-203 


47-283 ] 


14-598 


I88I 


No contest 










1882 


No contest 










1883 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


46-272 


48-316 


48-352 


42-940 


1884 


No contest 










1885 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


46-232 


48-276 


48-334 I 


42-842 


1886 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


47-283 


48-284 


48-326 ] 


43-893 


1887 


Mrs. A. M. Phillips 


46-286 


48-318 


48-376 


42-980 


1888 


Mrs. A. M. Phillips 


45-255 


48-300 


48-346 


[41-901 


1889 


Mrs. A. M. Phillips 


47-267 


48-320 


48-358 


[43-945 


1890 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


48-292 


48-320 


48-354 


[44-966 


1891 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


42-224 


47-259 


48-330 


137-813 


1892 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


44-206 


48-282 


48-330 


[40-818 


1893 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


45-233 


48-302 


48-344 


[41-879 


1894 


Mrs. A. Kern 


39-169 


38-312 


47-291 


[ 24-666 


189s 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


45-281 


48-332 


48-356 


[41-969 


1896 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


48-290 


48-316 


48-384 


[44-990 


1897 


Mrs. J. S. Barker 


42-190 


45-237 


48-320 


135-747 


1898 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


45-247 


45-305 


48-362 


[40-914 


1899 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


45-251 


48-292 


48-342 


[41-885 


1900 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


47-265 


47-303 


48-340 


[42-908 


I90I 


Mrs. C. S. Woodruff 


37-177 


42-198 


40-252 


[ 19-627 


1902 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


45-215 


48-282 


48-352 


[41-849 


1903 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


45-233 


47-303 


48-276 


[40-862 


1904 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


45-245 


48-274 


48-348 ] 


41-867 


1905 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


47-253 


47-305 


48-352 


[42-910 


1906 


Miss E. C. Cooke 


32-146 


33-141 


47-249 


[ 12-536 


1907 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


47-257 


48-322 


48-352 


[43-931 


1908 


Miss H. A. Case 


29-127 


38-182 


45-237 


[ 12-546 


1909 


Miss H. A. Case 


37-171 


47-241 


48-320 


132-732 


I9I0 


Miss L. M. Witwer 


36-168 


46-268 


45-297 


[27-733 


I9II 


Mrs. J. H. Taylor 


38-168 


45-231 


48-332 


[31-731 (a) 


I9I2 


Mrs. J. H. Taylor 


39-181 


45-261 


47-345 


[31-787 


I9I3 


Mrs. L. C. Smith 


29-107 


40-204 


47-263 ] 


1 6-5 74 (b) 


I9I4 


Mrs. B. P. Gray 


47-239 


48-258 


48-342 


[43-839 


I9I5 


Miss C. M. Wesson 


48-294 


48-328 


48-356 


[44-998 


I9I6 


Miss C. M. Wesson 


43-191 


48-302 


48-354 


[39-847 



(a) Same as Miss Witwer, married during the interim. 

(b) Mrs. Smith won by points, Mrs. P. S. Fletcher making 114 hits, 586 score. 



National Association Records 



Rank of the Winners of the Double National Round 



1. Mrs. 

2. Miss 

3. Miss 

4. Mrs. 

5. Mrs. 

6. Mrs. 

7. Mrs. 

8. Mrs. 

9. Miss 

10. Mrs. 

11. Mrs. 

12. Mrs. 

13. Mrs. 

14. Miss 



A. M. Phillips 
C. M. Wesson 
J. V. Sullivan 

B. P. Gray 
M. C. Howell 

C. S. Woodruff 
A. Kern 

J. S. Barker 
H. A. Case 
J. H. Taylor 
A. H. Gibbs 
H. Hall 
P. S. Fletcher 
E. C. Cooke 



Times 
Winner 

3 
2 
I 
I 

17 
I 
I 
I 
2 
2 
2 
I 
I 
I 



Average 
Winning 
Scores 

127-675 
127-645 
115-629 
127-625 
122-606 
126-604 
112-580 
112-520 
109-487 
103-460 
99-421 
88-416 

93-377 
82-302 



Highest 

Winning 

Score 

133-713 
130-708 
115-629 
127-625 
132-756 
126-604 
112-580 
112-520 
125-577 
112-524 
101-449 
88-416 

93-377 
82-302 



Rank of the Winners of the Double Columbia Round 



1. Mrs. 

2. Miss 

3. Mrs. 

4. Mrs. 

5. Mrs. 

6. Mrs. 

7. Mrs. 

8. Miss 

9. Mrs. 

10. Mrs. 

11. Mrs. 



A. M. Phillips 
C. M. Wesson 
M. C. Howell 

B. P. Gray 
J. H. Taylor 
J. S. Barker 
A. Kern 

H. A. Case 

C. S. Woodruff 
T. Davis 

S. Brown 



Times 
Winner 

3 
2 

17 
I 

3 
I 
I 
2 
I 
I 
I 



Average 
Winning 
Scores 

142-942 
141-923 
142-896 

143-839 
130-750 

135-747 
126-666 
123-629 
119-627 
114-598 
110-548 



Highest 

Winning 

Score 

142-980 
144-998 
144-990 

143-839 
131-787 

135-747 
126-666 
123-629 
119-627 
114-598 
110-548 



82 American Archery 

TEAM CONTEST FOR WOMEN 
(4 a side) 
72 arrows at 40 yards Hits-Score 

ai882 College Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 182- 874 

1883 Highland Archers, Wyoming, Ohio 238-1076 
96 arrows at 50 yards 

1884 No Contest 

1885 Highland Archers, Wyoming, Ohio 291-1321 
ai886 Highland Archers, Wyoming, Ohio 167-751 

1887 Robin Hood Archery Club, Dayton, Ky. 279-1229 

1888 Robin Hood Archery Club, Dayton, Ky. 263-1169 

1889 Robin Hood Archery Club, Dayton, Ky. 222- 876 

1890 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 268-1192 

1891 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 238-1070 

1892 No Contest 

1893 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio. No 

other team present 

1894 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. No other 

team present 

1895 No Contest 

1896 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. 

1897 Potomac Archers, Washington, D. C. 

1898 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1899 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio. 

other team present 

1900 Walnut Hills Archery Club, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1901 Highland Archers, Wyoming, Ohio 

1902 No Contest 

1903 Cincinnati Archery Association 

1904 Cincinnati Archery Association 

1905 Chicago Archery Club 

1906 Boston Archers 

1907 Chicago Archery Club 

1908 Chicago Archery Club 

1909 Chicago Archery Club 

1910 Chicago Archery Club 

191 1 Chicago Archery Club 

1912 Boston Archers 

1913 Newton Archers, Newton Centre, Mass. 

1914 Wayne Archers, Wayne, Pa. 

1915 No Contest 

1916 Wayne Archers, Wayne, Pa. 250-1088 

(a) 3 a side. 



199- 


■833 


218- 


932 


231- 


•1033 


No 




216- 938 


196- 864 


285- 


1307 


260^1144 


162- 


616 


172- 


• 688 


225- 


• 819 


147- 


513 


277- 


•1295 


31S- 


•1517 


201- 


■ 861 


248- 


•1078 


231- 


■1083 


295- 


•1405 



National Association Records 



83 



FLIGHT SHOOT FOR WOMEN 



1882 Mrs. Frye, Williamsport, Pa. 

1883 No contest 

1884 No contest 

1885 No contest 

1886 Mrs. A. M. Phillips, Battle Creek, Mich. 

1887 Mrs. A. M. Phillips, Battle Creek, Mich. 

1888 Miss E. C. Cooke, Washington, D. C. 

1889 Mrs. A. Kern, Dayton, Ohio 

1890 Mrs. A. Kern, Dayton, Ohio 

1 89 1 Miss E. C. Cooke, Washington, D. C. 

1892 Mrs. J. G. Graf, Walnut Hills, Ohio 

1893 Miss M. E. Strong, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1894 Miss E. C. Cooke, Washington, D. C. 
189s Mrs. J. S. Barker, Washington, D. C. 

1896 Miss E. C. Cooke, Washington, D. C. 

1897 Miss E. C Cooke, Washington, D. C. 

1898 No contest 

1899 Mrs. A. Kern, Dayton, Ohio 

1900 Mrs. M. C. Howell, Norwood, Ohio 

1901 Miss Georgie Clark, Wyoming, Ohio 

1902 Miss E. C. Cooke, Washington, D. C. 

1903 Miss Mabel Taylor, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1904 Miss Mabel Taylor, Cincinnati, Ohio 

1905 No contest 

1906 Mrs. E. W. Frentz, Melrose, Mass. 

1907 Mrs. Amelia Barbe, Chicago 

1908 Mrs. W. G. Valentine, Chicago 

1909 Mrs. E. W. Frentz, Melrose, Mass. 

1910 Miss L. M. Witwer, Chicago 

191 1 Miss F. M. Patrick, Oak Park, 111. 

1912 Mrs. G. P. Bryant, Melrose, Mass. 

191 3 Mrs. G. P. Bryant, Melrose, Mass. 

1914 Mrs. E. W. Frentz, Melrose, Mass, 

1915 No contest, on account of rain 

1916 Miss C. M. Wesson, Cotuit, Mass. 



Yards Inches 
162 



183 




17s 


24 


180 




210 


12 


189 


6 


211 


12 


151 




187 




178 


6 


197 




182 




172 




211 




141 




I9S 




190 




174 




219 




197 




147 




139 




188 




162 




189 




229 


24 


251 


i\ 


220 


29>^ 



204 



33 



84 American Archery 

The following tables show the places where 
the Annual Tournaments of the National 
Archery Association have been held and the 
number of contestants in each. 



Men Women Total 



1879 
1880 
1881 
1882 
1883 
1884 
1885 
1886 
1887 
1888 
1889 
1890 
1891 
1892 
1893 
1894 
189s 
1896 

1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 

1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
191 1 
1912 
1913 
1914 
191S 
1916 



Chicago 


69 


20 


89 


Buffalo, N. Y. 


35 


II 


46 


Brooklyn, N. Y. 


57 


19 


76 


Chicago 


31 


13 


44 


Cincinnati 


42 


27 


69 


Pullman, 111. 


15 


I 


16 


Eaton, Ohio 


22 


17 


39 


Chautauqua, N. Y, 


II 


12 


23 


Washington, D. C. 


28 


18 


46 


Dayton, Ohio 


35 


21 


56 


Dayton, Ohio 


27 


24 


51 


Norwood, Ohio 


23 


IS 


38 


Natural Bridge, Va. 


16 


12 


28 


Fortress Monroe, Va. 


18 


5 


23 


Dayton, Ohio 


24 


8 


32 


Washington, D. C. 


II 


7 


18 


Dayton, Ohio 


20 


4 


24 


White Sulphur Springs, Va. 


6 


S 


II 


Washington, D. C 


6 


S 


II 


Wyoming, Ohio 


13 


6 


19 


Norwood, Ohio 


10 


6 


16 


Cincinnati 


13 


6 


19 


Cincinnati 


14 


7 


21 


Mountain Lake Park, Md. 


13 


5 


18 


Niagara Falls, N. Y. 


IS 


6 


21 


St. Louis 


22 


6 


28 


Chicago 


34 


7 


41 


Boston 


14 


5 


19 


Chicago 


26 


10 


36 


Chicago 


25 


8 


33 


Chicago 


20 


16 


36 


Chicago 


23 


16 


39 


Chicago 


17 


15 


32 


Boston 


19 


12 


31 


Boston 


25 


10 


35 


Haverford, Pa. 


34 


18 


52 


Chicago 


19 


8 


27 


Jersey City, N. J. 


18 


9 


27 



sSt h Annual Tournament 85 



CHAPTER X 

Report of the 3 8th Annual Tournament 

OF the National Archery Association, 

Held at Hudson County Park, 

Jersey City, N. J. on August 

22, 23, 24 AND 25TH, 1916 

By James Duff 

FOR the first time in a period of 30 years 
the above Association wandered from the 
beaten track, and honored the famous Scottish 
Archers of Jersey City with the housing of 
the national event. The care of the Tourna- 
ment was placed in the hands of a capable 
Executive Committee, with James Duff as 
President, and Robert McNeil as Secretary, 
and all who participated in that year's 
gathering declare that there was little room 
for improvement. The care of the archers 
themselves was ideal, the weather almost 
perfection, and the fine grounds, granted by 
the Hudson County Park Commissioners, 
everything that the most particular archer 
could demand. 



86 American Archery 

Naturally where a scare-heading of Infantile 
Paralysis, was staring one in the face it was 
not to be expected that any record breaking 
attendance was to be looked for, but despite 
that great drawback, over 30 shooters took 
part in the Tournament, and during the 
week produced something more than ordinary 
archery. The shooting was of a very high 
order. 

On Monday evening a deputation of the 
Jersey Club, paid a visit to the Fairmount 
Hotel, and there received the visiting archers 
who had already arrived. On Tuesday even- 
ing the members of the National Archery 
Association were received by invitation at 
the head quarters of Clan McLeod O. S. C. 
of whom President Duff is the Chief; and 
there spent a happy evening in forgetting 
points of aims, targets, etc., until the clock 
reminded them that even the tireless archer 
requires a little sleep if he desires to make 
any show. Speeches were plentiful if short 
and sweet, and a social hour of song made 
all feel as though the visit to Jersey City 
was well repaid. 

The annual business meeting was held at 
the same place as the archers had selected 



S8th Annual Tournament 87 

for headquarters, and this year It was greatly 
to the credit of the ladles that they turned 
out In goodly numbers, and took an active 
part In the business of the Association. 
Among the principal Items of business brought 
up for discussion was the publication of a 
complete book on archery by the Association 
members, and as this work Is well advanced, 
and will not deal in the ancient fiction of the 
sport but will be a book of record and in- 
formation to the beginner as well as the man 
who knows It all, there should be quite a 
demand for the work. 

A fitting wind up to a glorious week of 
pleasure was the banquet at Fairmount 
Hotel, J. C. on Friday evening. Something 
of an innovation was observed when headed 
by a piper, some forty fully Highland dressed 
Scots made their entry into the dining hall, 
In honor of the trust the Association had 
placed in their fellow members. The evening 
was spent in distribution of prizes, speeches 
short and snappy and some songs rendered 
by the high talented artists, the Hamilton 
Brothers. All was so harmonious that every 
one felt that it was too bad when the President 
called for a last standing hand clasp and a 



88 



American Archery 



verse of Auld Lang Syne. It is hoped that the 
wishes of the local club will not be forgotten, 
when we all sing "Will Ye No Come Back 
Again." 

The following are records of the week's 
work at the range and the winners. 



Dr. R. P. Elmer 
Wayne, Pa. 



James S. Jiles 
Pittsburgh 



Homer S. Taylor 
Greenfield, Mass. 



Dr. O. L. Hertig 
Pittsburgh 



C. E. Dallin 



DOUBLE YORK ROUND 

ICO yards 80 yards 60 yards 
49-207 39-187 23-139 
41-183 3S-177 23-127 



Total Golds 

III- 533 13 
99- 487 8 



90-390 74-364 46-266 210-1020 21 



32-114 28-132 20- 92 
32-160 36-162 24-144 



8a- 338 3 
92- 466 12 



64-274 64-294 44-236 172- 804 15 



37-iSS 31-139 20-104 
38-150 33-131 22- 98 



88- 398 13 
93- 379 8 



75-305 64-270 42-202 181- 777 21 



30-116 32-132 23-113 
21-121 33-147 18- 88 



84- 361 8 
72- 356 6 



51-237 65-279 41-201 157- 717 14 



30-108 28-144 20-104 



Arlington Heights, Mass. 26- 92 33-149 23-1 11 



78- 356 7 
82- 352 8 



56-200 61-293 43-215 160- 708 15 



G. Phillips Bryant 
Melrose, Mass. 



27- 95 30-132 18- 92 
29-105 38-188 21- 99 



75- 319 4 
88- 392 7 



56-200 68-320 39-191 163- 711 II 



38th Annual Tournament 



89 



James DufF 
Jersey City 



W. P. Douthitt 
Pittsburgh 



Dr. E. I. Cole 
Ossining, N. Y. 



B. P. Gray 

Newton Centre, Mass. 



F. T. Leport 
Kansas City, Mo. 



S. G. McMeen 
Columbus, Ohio 



Hurlbut A. Ives 
Boston 



100 yards 
19- 85 
23- 99 



80 yards 60 yards 
29-123 
25-117 



21-101 
20-102 



Total Golds 
69- 309 3 
68- 318 



42-184 54-240 41-203 137- 627 



22-108 
28- 86 



IS- 63 
32-104 



14- 72 

15- 69 



37- 243 
75- 259 



II- 39 
6- 24 



26-108 
16- 68 



12- 52 
14- 68 



49- 199 

36- 160 



8- 20 
18- 68 

26- 88 

11- 29 

12- 40 



15- 63 
IS- 61 



14- 72 
10- S4 



37- iSS 

43- 183 



II- 4S 
19- 7S 



14- 60 
16- 58 



36- 134 
47- 173 



7- 31 


II- 29 


7- 23 


10- 30 


lo- 50 


13- ^S 



2S- 83 

33- I3S 



6-36 
4- 18 



8- 26 
7- 21 



6- 12 
10- 30 



20- 74 

21- 69 



Dr. R. P. Elmer 
Wayne, Pa. 



DOUBLE AMERICAN ROUND 

60 yards 50 yards 40 yards 
27-155 29-175 30-202 
27-151 30-184 30-198 



50-194 47-167 29-141 112- 502 6 



17- 63 42-176 26-120 85- 359 6 



30-124 24-126 80- 338 4 



23- 69 30-120 30-118 83- 307 3 



17- 61 21- 79 20- 78 58- 218 3 



10- 54 15- 47 16- 42 41- 143 I 



Total Golds 

86- 532 13 

87- S33 17 



54-306 S9-3S9 60-400 173-1065 30 



90 



American Archery 





60 yards 


50 yards 


40 yards 


Total ' 


Golds 


James S. Jiles 


28-160 


3c^i74 


29-181 


87- 515 


13 


Pittsburgh 


26-150 


30-178 


30-200 


86- 528 


13 




54-310 


60-352 


59-381 


173-1043 


26 


James Duff 


28-134 


29-183 


30-200 


87- 517 


15 


Jersey City- 


26-138 


28-176 


28-176 


84- 490 


16 




54-272 


57-359 


58-376 


171-1007 


31 


Homer S. Taylor 


22-106 


27-155 


30-194 


79- 455 


10 


Greenfield, Mass. 


27-135 


29-171 
56-326 


29-163 

59-357 


85- 469 
164- 924 


13 




49-241 


23 


Dr. 0. L. Hertig 


27-139 


30-144 


29-171 


86- 454 


II 


Pittsburgh 


25-115 


27-117 


29-151 
58-322 


81- 383 
167- 837 


7 




52-254 


57-261 


18 


G. Phillips Bryant 


22- 84 


27-135 


29-197 


78- 416 


10 


Melrose, Mass. 


19- 87 
41-171 


25-123 
52-258 


29-189 
58-386 


73- 399 


17 




151- 815 


27 


W. P. Douthitt 


18- 70 


28-128 


27-157 


73- 355 


II 


Pittsburgh 


23-129 


26-124 


28-142 


77- 395 


5 




41-199 


54-252 


55-299 


150- 750 


16 


F. T. Leport 


18- 91 


26-144 


29-131 


73- 366 


7 


Kansas City, Mo. 


21- 86 


24- 92 


29-181 


74- 359 


9 




39-177 


50-236 


58-312 


147- 725 


16 


C. E. Dallin 


27-125 


25-133 


30-140 


82- 398 


6 


Arlington Heights, 


Mass. 21- 79 
48-204 


23- 95 


29-147 
59-287 


73- 321 
155- 719 


5 




48-228 


II 


John McRae 


20- 76 


27-133 


29-143 


76- 352 


5 


Jersey City 


21- 87 
41-163 


26-130 
53-263 


28-142 


75- 359 
151 711 


5 




57-285 


10 



S8th Annual Tournament 91 

60 yards 50 yards 40 yards Total Golds 
Dr. H. G. Goldberg 16- 56 22- 90 29-137 67- 283 3 

Philadelphia 22- 84 25-115 29-167 76- 366 7 



38-140 47-205 58-304 143- 649 10 

Dr. E. I. Cole 16- 56 24- 98 27-171 67- 326 11 

Ossining, N. Y. 14- 76 24-100 28-130 66- 306 5 



30-132 48-198 55-301 133- 631 16 

Robert W. McNeil 21-83 26-96 28-128 75-307 4 

Jersey City 15- 57 26- 92 28-116 69- 265 i 



36-140 52-188 56-244 144- 572 5 

Hurlburt A. Ives 14- 60 21- 99 24-116 59- 275 3 

Boston 15- 67 17- 71 23- 95 55- 233 3 



29-127 38-170 47-211 114- 508 6 

Burton P. Gray 16- 64 17- 67 23- 95 56- 226 3 

Boston 19- 91 18- 72 20- 88 57- 251 5 



3S-ISS 35-139 43-183 113- 477 8 

S. G. McMeen 3- 13 15- 75 16- 64 34- 152 3 

Columbus, Ohio 9- 23 16- 69 20-122 45- 214 3 



12- 36 31-144 36-186 79- 366 6 

Dr. Edward F. Corson 11- 27 16- 56 25-110 52- 193 3 
Cynwyd, Pa. 10- 28 18- 75 19- 69 47- 172 i 



21- 55 34-131 44-179 99- 365 4 

William McOwen n- 51 18-72 14- 42 43- 165 4 

Jersey City 8- 18 15- 61 18- 72 41- 151 3 



19- 69 33-133 32-114 84- 316 7 



92 American Archery 

Championship Scores 

According to the Constitution the cham- 
pionship shall be determined by adding to- 
gether the hits and scores of the Double 
American and Double York Rounds. Figur- 
ing on this basis we have the following results : 



I. 


Elmer 


2468 


2. 


Jiles 


2192 


3- 


Taylor 


2046 


4- 


Duff 


1942 


5- 


Hertig 


1876 


6. 


Bryant 


1840 


7- 


Dallin 


1742 


8. 


Douthitt 


1426 


9- 


Leport 


1262 


10. 


Cole 


1208 


II. 


Gray 


1008 


12. 


Ives 


806 


13- 


McMeen 


721 



Others shot only one Double Round. 

Handicap Prizes 

Handicap prizes were offered to the archers 
who showed the greatest improvement in the 
second half of each double round. 

Handicap York Round, won by James S. 
Jiles. 

Handicap American Round, won by Dr. 
H. G. Goldberg. 



S8th Annual Tournament 



93 



1916 JERSEY CITY, N. J. 

MEN'S TEAM ROUND SCORES 
96 arrows at 60 yards 



Keystone Archers 


1st 24 


2nd 24 


3rd 24 


4th 24 


TOTAL 


Dr. Elmer 


23-129 


24-138 


22-100 


24-126 


93- 493 


W. D. Douthitt 


21- 93 


20- 92 


17- 59 


21- 99 


79- 343 


J. S. Jlles 


21- 93 


22- 92 


21- 99 


19- 91 


83- 375 


Dr. Hertig 


20-102 


23- 89 
89-411 


22- 92 
82-3 so 


22- 88 
86-404 


87- 371 




85-417 


342-1582 


Boston Archers 












Homer Taylor 


22-114 


22- 96 


21-103 


22-104 


87- 417 


Burton P. Gray 


16- 60 


18- 68 


13- SI 


IS- ^S 


62- 244 


Cyrus E. Dallin 


17- 71 


14- 46 


13- 49 


17- 73 


61- 239 


G. P. Bryant 


21-103 


23-113 


22-116 


22-102 


88- 434 




76-348 


77-323 


69-319 


76-244 298-1334 


Jersey City Archers 












Jas. Duff 


20- 92 


22- 82 


17- 81 


21- 75 


80- 330 


R. W. McNeil 


12- 44 


IS- 71 


12- 50 


17- 69 


56- 234 


John Macrae 


18- 84 


19- 80 


17- 76 


IS- 59 


71- 299 


Dr. Cole 


18- 82 


19- 83 


19- 8s 


19- 79 


75- 333 



- 68-302 75-316 65-292 72-282282-1196 

Shooting Independently 

H. Ives, Boston 6- 30 5- 15 10- 40 11- 41 32- 126 

F. Leport, Kansas City 15- 57 18- 60 17- 83 16- 62 66- 262 

Wm. McOwan, Jersey 

City 5- 21 10- 44 8- 32 10- 36 33- 133 

S. G. McMeen, Colum- 
bus 14- 58 14- 48 8- 20 10- 50 46- 176 

40-166 47-167 43-175 47-186 177- 697 

FLIGHT SHOOT FOR MEN 

Won by George Phillips Bryant. 

Distance 289 yards, 2 feet, 4 inches. 

This is only 8 inches short of the record by Maxson. 



94 American Archery 



DOUBLE NATIONAL ROUND 






60 yards 


50 yards 


Total 


Golds 


Miss Cynthia M. Wesson 


37-177 


24-120 


61-297 


S 


Cotuit, Mass. 


43-179 


20-106 


63-285 
124-582 


S 




80-356 


44-226 


10 


Miss Norma Pierce 


35-119 


23-109 


58-228 


4 


Boston 


40-172 


23-121 


63-293 
121-521 


S 




75-291 


46-230 


9 


Mrs. John Dunlap, Jr. 


24- 74 


19- 63 


43-137 


I 


Wayne, Pa. 


26-114 


ic^ 34 


36-148 
79-285 


2 




50-188 


29- 97 


3 


Miss F. Maude Dessau 


18- 78 


17- 65 


35-143 


2 


Sound Beach, Conn. 


23- 73 


15- 61 
32-126 


38-134 
73-277 







41-151 


2 


Miss Stella M. Ives 


23- 93 


16- 46 


39-139 





Roslindale, Mass. 


18- 62 


14- 68 
30-114 


32-130 


2 




41-1SS 


71-269 


2 


Dr. Cockett 


18- 72 


9- 25 


27- 97 


2 


Cotuit, Mass. 


29-109 


17- 61 


46-170 
73-267 


4 




47-181 


26- 86 


6 


Mrs. Robert P. Elmer 


16- 70 


10- 38 


26-108 





Wayne, Pa. 


14- 48 
30-118 


10- 40 


24- 88 


3 




20- 78 


50-196 


3 


Mrs. F. L. Wesson 


7- IS 


10- 54 


17- 69 


3 


Cotuit, Mass. 


IS- SI 


II- 39 


26- 90 







22- 66 


21- 93 


43-159 


3 


Miss Edna Wilson 


10- 50 


9- 25 


19- 75 





Chicago 


II- 31 


10- 26 


21- 57 






21- 81 19- 51 40-132 



S8th Annual Tournament 



95 



DOUBLE COLUMBIA ROUND 

50 yards 40 yards 30 yards 
Miss Cynthia M. Wesson 21- 95 24-162 24-194 



Cotuit, Mass. 



Miss Norma Pierce 
Boston 



Miss F. M. Dessau 
Sound Beach, Conn. 



Mrs. John Dunlap, Jr. 
Wayne, Pa. 



Mrs. Robert P. Elmer 
Wayne, Pa. 



Miss Stella M. Ives 
Roslindale, Mass. 

Dr. Cockett 
Cotuit, Mass. 



Mrs. F. L. Wesson 
Cotuit, Mass. 



Miss Edna Wilson 
Chicago 



22- 96 24-140 24-160 

43-191 48-302 48-354 

22- 84 20- 88 24-134 

18- 70 21-103 24-108 



Total Golds 
69-451 21 
70-396 10 



139-847 31 

66-306 2 
63-281 8 



40-154 41-191 48-242 129-587 10 

12- 60 22-114 22-128 
21- 91 21-109 



20- 82 



56-302 
62-282 



16- 62 20-102 23-109 
II- 45 13-159 18- 92 



59-273 
42-196 



15- 75 
9- 27 



17-104 21-129 
IS- 57 19- 65 



24-: 


[02 


33- 


161 


40-194 


97-457 


16- 


72 


II- 


41 


22- 


-100 


49-213 


10- 


58 


14- 


■56 


23- 


-127 


47-241 



26-130 25- 97 45-227 



7- 17 

10- 32 



9- 31 21-115 
10- 38 15- 43 



96-454 

37-163 
35-113 



I- I 

9- 27 



12- 56 16- 84 
9- 35 19- 73 



29-141 
37-135 



32-142 43-205 43-237 118-584 8 

17- 63 22-108 23-137 62-308 3 
15- S3 21-113 22-100 58-266 4 



32-116 43-221 45-237 120-574 7 



27-107 33-161 41-201 101-469 3 



54-308 10 
43-149 I 

II 

2 

4 
6 

3 
2 



17- 49 19- 69 36-158 72-276 5 



lo- 28 21- 91 35-157 66-276 3 



g6 American Archery 



Championship Scores 



I. 


Miss Wesson 


1692 


2. 


Miss Pierce 


1358 


3- 


Mrs. Dunlap 


1058 


4- 


Miss Dessau 


1052 


S- 


Miss Ives 


894 


6. 


Dr. Cockett 


890 


7- 


Mrs. Elmer 


816 


8. 


Mrs. Wesson 


SSo 


9- 


Miss Wilson 


S14 



1916 JERSEY CITY, N. J. 

- WOMEN'S TEAM ROUND 
96 arrows at 50 yds. 

Wayne Archers ist 24 2nd 24 3rd 24 4th 24 Total 

Cynthia Wesson 21-105 21-105 22-118 23-125 87-453 

Mrs. Dunlop 16- 68 11- 37 15- 59 12- 44 54- 208 

Mrs. Elmer 12- 52 7- 19 10- 40 12- 48 41- 159 

Dr. Cockett 14- 46 20- 72 16- 64 18- 86 68- 268 





63-271 


59-233 


63-281 


65-303 


250-1088 


Boston Archers 












Norma Pierce 


18- 90 


21- 91 


19- 81 


15- 63 


73- 325 


F. M. Dessau 


17- 91 


15- 69 


12- 56 


14- 70 


58- 286 


Mrs. Wesson 


7- 25 


II- 47 


9- 25 


16- 74 


43- 171 


Stella M. Ives 


14- 62 


22- 88 


16- 64 


19- 73 


71- 287 



54-268 69-295 56-226 64-280 245-1069 

WOMEN'S FLIGHT SHOOT 

Won by Miss Cynthia Wesson yards feet inches 

Distance 204 2 9 

Wand Shoot at 40 yards 
Won by Miss Wesson 2 hits 
Dr. Cockett i hit 



S8th Annual Tournament 97 

The Women's Handicap Contests were 
shot out in full, as separate events. 

Winner of Handicap National, Miss Dessau. 
Made 188, given 152, total 340. 

Winner of Handicap Columbia, Mrs. Wes- 
son. Made 197, given 286, total 483. 

1916 JERSEY CITY, N. J. 
Clan McLeod No. 70 O.S.C. Novelty 
Competition Cup 
The competition for this trophy — presented 
by the Jersey City Branch of the Order of 
Scottish Clans — took place on Friday after- 
noon. The Novelty Competition took the 
form of a duck shoot. The figure of a duck 
painted black, with eye and breast painted 
white, was placed on the target in such 
manner as to cover the gold. Forty-eight 
arrows were shot at forty yards and an eye 
counted 3, a breast 2 and any other part of 
the body i. Hits were added to score in final 
computation. The contest resulted in a tie of 
28 each between Mr. Leport and Mr. Duff. Six 
additional rounds of 6 arrows each were shot 
without a decision. In the seventh round, the 
hits nearest to the duck were counted and 
Mr. Duff was declared victor by one hit. 



98 



American Archery 



1916 JERSEY CITY, N. J. 

JILES CUP 
Improved Tournament Score 



J. S. Jiles 


191S 
1916 


1241 

1847 


606 


J. Duff 


1915 
1916 


1309 
1770 


461 


Dr. Elmer 


191s 
1916 


1682 
2085 


403 


H. S. Taylor 


1914 
1916 


1406 
1701 


29s 


W. D. Douthitt 


1915 
1916 


1047 
1277 


230 


C. E. Dallin 


[914 
1916 


1247 
1419 


172 


Dr. Hertig 


1915 
1916 


1389 

ISS3 


164 


Miss Norma Pierce 


1914 
1916 


981 
1 108 


127 


G. P. Bryant 


1914 
[916 


1445 
1526 


81 


E. I. Cole 


[914 
[916 


1 100 
990 




Mrs. R. P. Elmer 


[914 
[916 


769 
66s 




Mrs. Wesson 


[91S 
[916 


683 
435 




Miss Wesson 
B. P. Gray 


1915 
[916 

[914 
1916 


1706 
1429 

I2S7 
81S 





SSth Annual Tournament 99 

Combined scores in Double American and 
Double York Rounds, for men, and Double 
Columbia and Double National for women. 
Archer showing greatest improvement over 
his or her last tournament score wins. No 
score more than ten years old to be con- 
sidered. 

Jiles cup, won by J. S. Jiles. 

1916 JERSEY CITY, N. J. 

Women 

Christian Science Monitor Shield for the 
most hits in the Double National and Double 
Columbia Rounds. At the end of five years, 
from 19 1 2, to become the property of the 
highest of five winners. 

1912 Boston, won by Mrs. Witwer Taylor, Chicago 243 hits 

1913 Boston, won by Mrs. P. S. Fletcher, Chicago 207 " 

1914 Haverford, won by Mrs. B. P. Gray, Boston 270 " 

19 1 5 Chicago, won by Miss C. M. Wesson, Bryn Mawr 274 " 

1916 Jersey City, won by Miss C. M. Wesson, Bryn Mawr 262 " 

Awarded to Miss Wesson on score made at 
Chicago in 1915. 



lOO American Archery 

Dr. Robert P. Elmer. 

Champion Archer of the United States. 
Awarded Dallln Medal In gold. 

" York Round Medal. 

" American Round Medal. 

" Maurice Thompson Medal. 

" Potomac Medal. 

" Chicago Cup. 

Having won the Chicago Cup for the third 
time It became the permanent property of 
Dr. Elmer. 

James S. Jlles. 

Second in Championship Contest. 
Awarded Dallln Medal in silver. 

" 80 yards range medal. 

" Jlles Cup. 

As Captain of the Keystone Archers, Mr. 
Jlles was made custodian of the Pearsall 
Bugle. 

Homer S. Taylor. 

Third In Championship Contest. 
Awarded Dallln medal In bronze. 

" 100 yards range medal. 

" Spalding medal. 



S8th Annual Tournament loi 

James DufF. 
Awarded 50 yards range medal. Medal 

missing since 1914 and not presented. 
Awarded Clan McLeod Cup, for the Duck 

Shoot. 

Dr. Hertig. 

Awarded 60 yards range medal. 

G. P. Bryant. 

Awarded 40 yards range medal. 
" Ovington Beaker. 

F. E. Leport. 

Awarded Duff Gold Medal for highest score 
in the Team Shoot made by an archer 
who was not a member of a team. 

John MacRae. 

Awarded the Duff Arrow. 

S. G. McMeen. 

Awarded the Elmer Wooden Spoon. 

Miss Cynthia M. Wesson. 

Champion Woman Archer of the United 
States. 

Awarded DaUin Medal in gold. 
" National Round Medal. 
" Columbia Round Medal. 
" Weston Trophy. 



I02 American Archery 

Made custodian of the Peacock Cup which 
was won by the Wayne Archers. 

Awarded the Christian Science Monitor 
Shield to keep. 

Miss Norma Pierce. 

Second in Women's Championship Contest. 
Awarded DaUin Medal in silver. 
" 60 yards range medal. 

Mrs, John Dunlap, Jr. 

Third in Women's Championship Contest. 
Awarded Dallin Medal in bronze. 
" 40 yards range medal. 

Miss F. M. Dessau. 

Awarded 50 yards range medal. 

" Maid Marian Arrow. 

" Beach Brooch, by virtue of being 
the youngest woman present. 

Dr. Marguerite Cocket. 

Awarded the 30 yard range medal. 



T 



Eastern Archery Association 103 



CHAPTER XI 

The Eastern Archery Association 
By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 
HE Eastern Archery Association was 



formed in 1879, the same year as the 
National Archery Association, for the purpose, 
stated in its constitution, of associating under 
one general management and head, the vari- 
ous archery societies of the Eastern United 
States. Membership was not held by in- 
dividuals, but by clubs, the following being 
the founders of the association: 

The Pequosette Archers Watertown, Mass. 

The Waltham Archers Waltham, Mass. 

The Orchard Archers FItchburg, Mass. 

The Oritani Archers Hackensack, N. J. 

The West Newton Archery Club West Newton, Mass. 

The Toxarchs Newton, Mass. 

The Greenfield Archers Greenfield, Mass. 

The Maple Grove Archers Springfield, Mass. 

The Massasolt Bowmen Springfield, Mass. 

The constitution adopted was identical 
with that of the National Archery Associa- 
tion, except for the proper names. 

Inasmuch as all but one of the charter 
societies was from Masschusetts, the first 



104 



American Archery 



tournament was held at Beacon Park, Boston, 
on the 25th and 26th of September, 1879, a 
few weeks after the first National Tourna- 
ment had been held at Chicago. 

The following clubs were represented: 



Men 


Women 


The Pequosette Archers 6 


4 


Watertown, Mass. 


The Waltham Archers i 


I 


Waltham, Mass. 


The Oritani Archers 5 





Hackensack, N. J. 


The West Newton A. C. 5 


4 


West Newton, Mass. 


The Brooklyn A. C. 5 





Brooklyn, N. Y. 


The Toxophilites 6 





Lewiston, Maine 


The Cedarwoods 4 





Poughkeepsie, N. Y. 


Robin Hood Archers i 





Nyack, N. Y. 


Ellenville A. C. Not known 


Ellenville, N. Y. 



The best scores were: 

Double American Round (Championship) 



I. E. R. Dwight, Watertown 




122-556 


2. H. Ennis, Poughkeepsie 




"3-535 


3. J. 0. Blake, Chicago (with Brooklyn) 


120-522 


Men's Team, Single American Round 






Brooklyn A. C. 






J. G. Johnston 




58-246 


J. 0. Blake 




46-246 


Major A. G. Constable 




38-166 


Dr. D. F. Wemple 




33-129 


Double Columbia Round (Championship) 




I. Miss Silsbee, Watertown 




86-406 


2. Miss Allen, West Newton 




94-366 


3. Miss Walker, Watertown 




63-313 



Eastern Archery Association 105 



Women's Team, Single Columbia Round 




Pequosette Archers 




Miss Silsbee 


34-156 


Miss Walker 


25-125 


Mrs. Shackford 


25-143 



84-424 

The second tournament was held at Ridge 
Hill Farms, Wellesley, Mass., on September 
1st and 2nd, 1880. Ten archery clubs were 
represented by 31 men and 9 women. 

Best scores: 

Double York Round (Championship) 

1. L. L. Peddlnghaus, Marietta, Ohio 127-519 

2. F. H. Brackett, Roxbury, Mass. 128-474 

3. W. G. Morse, Poughkeepsie 105-395 

Men's Team Round (72 arrows at 60 yards) 

Hawthorne Archers, Roxbury 

F. H. Brackett 61-221 

Howard Brackett 47-207 

James Dwight 48-192 

F. D, Ritzer 42-126 

198-746 
Double Columbia Round (Championship) 

1. Miss Abba Agar, Jamaica Plain, Mass. 108-526 

2. Miss E. L. Magee, Watertown, Mass. 63-245 

3. Miss Allen, West Newton, Mass. 58-242 

Women's Team Round (72 arrows at 50 yards) 
Jamaica Plain Archers 

Miss A. Agar 46-178 

Miss J. Agar 43-171 

Miss J. Sprague 40-156 

129-505 



io6 American Archery 

The records of the association from this 
time until 191 1 are lost. It is known that 
tournaments were held, but various inquiries 
have failed, as yet, to elicit any satisfactory 
information concerning them. 

In a letter to Dr. Weston, in 19 14, Mr. 
Will H. Thompson wrote, "We came near 
wrecking archery at one time over the attempt 
to change the value of the colors on the target 
to I, 2, 3, 4 and 5. The Eastern Archery 
Association adopted the silly change for no 
technical reason whatever." 

In the Spalding Official Archery Guide, 
written by Dr. Weston in 1909, he states, 
"In recent years the members of the Eastern 
Archery Association have shot on their local 
ranges, and reported the scores to the Secre- 
tary. This has constituted the annual meet- 
ing." 

Let us hope that these records may yet be 
found. 

In the fall of 191 1, H. B. Richardson, 
President of the National Archery Associa- 
tion, issued a call to all archers in the Eastern 
United States to hold a tournament on 
November nth, to compete for the champion- 
ship medals of the Eastern Archery Associa- 



Eastern Archery Association 107 

tion, which were then In the possession of 
Wallace Bryant. Those archers who could 
do so were expected to shoot on the Play- 
grounds at Newton Centre, Mass., but those 
who could not be there were allowed to shoot 
on any range and send their scores in to Mr. 
Richardson to be recorded. 

Eight men and seven women competed 
at Newton Centre and seven men at Wayne, 
Pa. No other localities were represented. 

Inasmuch as the original constitution of 
the Eastern Archery Association was tem- 
porarily lost, the rules of this and the succeed- 
ing tournaments were modelled as closely as 
possible on those of the National Archery 
Association. 

Best scores: 



Single York Round 




I. Wallace Bryant, Boston 


97-443 


2. G. P. Bryant, Melrose 


87-421 


3. H. B. Richardson, Boston 


78-310 


Single American Round 




I. G. P. Bryant 


88-464 


2. Wallace Bryant 


86-464 


3. H. B. Richardson 


84-426 


Single National Round 




I, Miss Helen Hutchinson 


65-323 


2. Miss F. Bogert 


4S-191 


3. Miss H. Davis 


4S-187 



io8 American Archery 

The tournament for 191 2 was also held as 
a mail-match, the date being set for October 
1 2th, thereby setting the precedent of having 
the tournament either on Columbus Day or 
as near it as possible. The list of entries 
was much longer than in the previous year, 
there being 24 men and 18 women. Among 
the former were six Scottish-American Archers 
from Jersey City and several individuals from 
widely scattered points. Six men and seven 
women were from western cities and so were 
not considered eligible for the prizes although 
their scores added interest to the competition. 

Best scores: 



Single York Round 




I. G. P. Bryant 


101-467 


2. W. H. Wills, New York City 


89-347 


3. H. B. Richardson 


75-327 


Single American Round 




I. G. P. Bryant 


88-550 


2. G. L. Nichols, Chicago 


89-549 


3. Dr. Hertig, Pittsburgh 


86-476 


Single National Round 




I. Miss Helen Hutchinson, Boston 


48-210 


2. Miss F. M. Patrick, Brooklyn 


46-192 


3. Miss C. Wesson, Cotuit, Mass. 


39-165 


Single Columbia Round 




I. Mrs. Witwer-Taylor, Chicago 


71-449 


2. Miss H. Hutchinson (Winner) 


68-378 


3. Mrs. G. Wallace, Des Moines 


64-318 



Eastern Archery Association 109 

The success attending these mail-matches 
made it seem advisable to adopt normal 
tournament conditions for the contest in 
1913, so an invitation was given by the Wayne 
Archers for a meeting in that place on the 
4th of July. 

The tournament was held in connection 
with other field sports and was witnessed by 
fully two thousand people. Different ranges 
were used in the morning and afternoon but 
on neither of them was there space enough 
to shoot the York Round. Only the Double 
American Round was shot, there being no 
women contestants. Eighteen men, coming 
from seven different places, were present. 

Best scores: 

Double American Round 

I. Dr. Elmer, Wayne 88- 528 

86- 504 



174-1032 

2. A. C. Hale, Wayne 82- 404 

84- 492 



166- 896 

3. Dr. Hertig, Pittsburgh 82- 398 

83- 439 

i6s- 837 



no American Archery 

In 1914 the tournament was held in Jersey 
City, on the invitation of the Scottish- 
American Archers. The shooting filled three 
days, October 8th, 9th and loth, giving ample 
time for the full Double York and Double 
American Rounds. 

Best scores: 

Double York Round 

1. James S. Jiles, Pittsburgh 154-722 

2. Dr. Hertig 165-653 

3. H-. S. Taylor, Buffalo 153-695 

Although the best score was made by Jiles, 
the Championship was awarded to Hertig on 
points, viz: 

Hertig Jiles Taylor 

Total hits 2 Total score 2 

Hits at 100 I Score at 80 i Half hits at 60 }4 

Score at 100 i Score at 60 i 

Hits at 80 I Half hits at 60 j^ 

5 4K 

Double American Round 

1. James Duff, Jersey City 165-963 

2. James Jiles 162-962 

3. Dr. Hertig 158-898 

Handicap medals for both events were won 
by McRae, of Jersey City. 

In 1915 a two day tournament, on October 
8th and 9th, was to be held at Newton Centre, 



Eastern Archery Association iii 

Mass., but the weather conditions were so 
bad that the competition had to be confined 
to the second day. A few archers shot for 
practice in the afternoon of the first day and 
Mrs. Gray made an American round score 
of 84-474, which was higher than the score 
that won. 

Twenty men and seven women took part. 

Best scores: 



Single York Round 




I. C. E. Dallin, Arlington Heights, Mass. 


91-417 


2. H. S. Taylor, Buffalo 


72-360 


3. G. P. Bryant 


74-320 


Single American Round 




I. C. E. Dallin 


87-471 


2. Dr. H. B. Richardson 


82-424 


3. James Duff 


78-402 


Double National Round 




I. Mrs. B. P. Gray, Newton Centre 


116-558 


2. Mrs. G. P. Bryant, Melrose 


87-377 


3. Miss Ives, Roslindale, Mass. 


80-340 


Double Columbia Round 




I. Mrs. B. P. Gray 


139-797 


2. Miss Norma Pierce, Boston 


122-624 


3. Mrs. G. P. Bryant 


123-581 



Since the revival of the tournaments of 
the Eastern Archery Association, each had 
been a more successful occasion than the 
one of the previous year. That of 19 16 was 
held at Newton Centre on October 12th and 



112 



American Archery 



13th and was considered, by archers of experi- 
ence, to have been the best of all. The full 
scores follow: 



Double York Round 








I. 


James Duff 


90-394 


81-365 


171-759 


2. 


F. I. Peckham 


81-360 


59-267 


140-627 


3- 


G. P. Bryant 


62-248 


74-288 


136-536 


4- 


C. T. Switzler 


63-2SS 


64-270 


127-525 


S- 


A. Shepherdson 


63-269 


59-233 


122-502 


6. 


L. C. Smith 


52-200 


46-250 


98-450 


7- 


E. J. Cole 


42-176 


54-218 


96-394 


8. 


H. A. Ives 


42-142 


50-171 


92-313 


9- 


S. W. Wilder 


44-174 


29-113^ 


73-287 


10. 


T, H. Uzzell 


3S-IIS 


52-162 


77-277 


II. 


J. C. Bushong 


32-114 


4(^132 


72-246 


12. 


J. P. True 


24- 92 


28-114 


52-206 


13- 


J. McOwen 


25- 94 


32- 98 


56-192 


14. 


Ellis Spear 


27-1 IS 




27-115 


IS- 


S. E. Hall 


28- 90 




28- 90 


Double 


American Round 








I. 


A. Shepherdson 


83-483 


80-446 


163-929 


2. 


James Duff 


85-517 


77-391 


162-908 


3- 


E. W. Frentz 


82-432 


79-403 


161-835 


4- 


G. P. Bryant 


79-389 


75-405 


154-794 


5- 


F. I. Peckham 


79-415 


78-378 


157-793 


6. 


C. T. Switzler 


79-389 


80-402 


159-791 


7- 


L. C. Smith 


79-381 


76-396 


I 5 5-777 


8. 


E. J. Cole 


78-352 


76-392 


154-744 


9- 


H. A. Ives 


76-356 


77-359 


153-715 


10. 


C. W. Dallin 


79-335 


74-368 


153-703 


II. 


Elles Spear 


63-237 


68-366 


131-603 


12. 


F. J. Lightbody 


70-282 


66-310 


136-592 


13- 


J. C. Bushong 


54-226 


67-313 


121-539 


14. 


T. H. Uzzell 


58-244 


63-277 


121-521 


IS- 


J. McOwen 


58-270 


58-228 


116-498 


16. 


S. W. Wilder 


79-409 




79-409 


17- 


J. P. True 


44-192 


54-206 


98-308 


18. 


S. E. Hall 


56-260 




56-260 


19. 


H. S. Bouker 


41-161 




41-161 



a Second round was not finished. 



Eastern Archery Association 113 



In the manner prescribed by the : 


new con- 


stitution of the National Archery Association 


the Champion was found by 


adding 


together 


the total hits and scores in both double rounds. 


By this method the first three men were: 


I. James 


Duff 


2000 




2. F. I. Peckham 


1717 




3. A. Shepherdson 


1716 




Double National Round 








I. Mrs. B. P. Gray 


53-247 


58-310 


I I 1-557 


2. Miss C. M. Wesson 


49-209 


58-266 


107-475 


3. Miss S. Ives 


34-138 


38-148 


72-286 


4. Miss N. True 


34-130 


31-111 


65-241 


5. Miss N. Pierce 


48-186 




48-186 


6. Mrs. F. Wesson 


25- 79 


20- 84 


45-163 


7. Mrs. T. H. Uzzell 


19- 45 


13- 73 


32-122 


8. Mrs. A. Shepherdson 


"- 45 


II- 33 


22- 78 


9. Miss Ruth Brewer 


19- 69 




19- 69 


10. Mrs. J. P. True 


I- 5 


2- 6 


3- II 


Double Columbia Round 








I. Miss C. M. Wesson 


67-347 


70-398 


137-745 


2. Mrs. B.P.Gray 


70-326 


68-400 


138-726 


3. Miss N. True 


55-283 


51-223 


106-506 


4. Miss S. Ives 


38-198 


33-143 


71-341 


5. Mrs. E. W. Frentz 




58-296 


58-296 


6. Miss Norma Pierce 






61-291 


7. Mrs. J. P. True 


13- 49 


32-118 


45-267 


8. Mrs. T. H. Uzzell 


29-115 


38-138 


67-253 


9. Miss Dorothy Smith 


57-247 




57-247 


10. Mrs. F. Wesson 


24- 85 


30-110 


54-194 


II. Miss Ruth Brewer 


20- 70 


24- 98 


44-168 


12. Mrs. A. Shepherdson 


32-130 




32-130 



By totals Mrs. Gray was first with 1532. 
Miss Wesson got 1464. 



114 American Archery 



CHAPTER XII 

Best Scores of All Kinds and Feats 
OF Skill 

By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 

IT HAS been the good fortune of very few 
archers to make their best scores at the 
large tournaments, so that the records of 
these events do not give a fair idea of what 
many of the contestants are capable of doing 
when every circumstance is favorable. Fur- 
therm.ore, some of the most skillful archers in 
the country have been so situated that they 
have never been able to do more than shoot 
by themselves or in the company of a few 
friends. 

This article is written for the purpose of 
rescuing from oblivion the best scores that 
have been made under any conditions. Some 
of them can be vouched for by no one but 
the archer himself, but many were made in 
club contests or before witnesses in other ways. 
Wherever it is known to the editor that other 
people saw a score made he has mentioned 
the fact. 



Best Scores of All Kinds 



115 



Of necessity these lists are incomplete. 
Without doubt there are many fine scores that 
the editor does not know anything about, 
but he has made a careful search of all the 
data at his disposal and he feels safe in asserting 
that the tabulated results form a pretty good 
index of the best that is in American archery. 



SINGLE AMERICAN ROUND 



I. E. J. Rendtorff 
Lake Forest, 111. 



30-224 
30-228 
30-230 

90-682 

I. W. Maxson 30-204 

Washington, D. C. 30-226 
(Died 2 July, 1916) 30-240 



Shot at Lake Forest, III., 
3 P. M., Monday, 2 June, 191 3, 
in private match with Prof. 
Bross Thomas. Reported For- 
est y Stream, 28 June, 191 3. 

Reported by Dr. Weston. 
Particulars unknown. 







90-670 




3. 


Dr. R. P. Elmer 


29-191 


Private practice, 17 Septem- 




Wayne, Pa. 


30-222 
30-242 


ber, 1917. 




89-655 




4- 


W. A. Clark 


90-646 


Made in club contest of High- 




Cincinnati, Ohio 




land Archers of Wyoming,Ohio. 




(Died 20 Oct., 191 


t3) 


Score shown Dr. Elmer by Mr. 
Clark. 


S- 


J. B. Siders 


30-182 


Reported by Dr. Weston in 




Los Angeles, Cal. 


30-220 


Christian Science Monitor, 14 






30-234 


January, 1914. 



90-636 



ii6 



American Archery 



6. M. Sorber 

Pittsburgh, Pa. 

7. Arthur Young 

San Francisco, Cal. 



90-630 



8. F. C. Havens 
Oakland, Cal. 



9. W. J. Holmes 
Pittsburgh 



10. C. C. Beach 

Battle Creek 
Mich. 

(Deceased) 



II. G. P. Bryant 
Boston 



12. H. W. Bishop 
Chicago 



13. H. S. Taylor 

Greenfield, Mass. 



30-190 
30-198 
30-238 

90-626 

28-184 
30-212 
30-230 

88-626 

30-180 
30-210 
29-233 

89-623 

3&-198 
30-208 
30-216 

90-622 

30-186 
30-200 
30-232 

90-618 

30-176 
30-206 
30-236 

90-618 

90-612 



Club contest. Scored and re- 
ported by Dr. Hertlg. 

Witnessed and scored by Dr. 
Pope. 25 March, 1917. 



Reported by Dr. Weston, P. 
112 Spalding's Guide, 2nd Edi- 
tion. Shot in a match. 



Club contest, 22 Nov., 191 3. 
Scored by Dr. Hertig. 



Private practice in the autumn 
of 1908. Reported by Mr. 
Beach to Dr. Weston for 
publication in Spalding's Arch- 
ery Guide. 

American Record. National 
Tournament at Boston, 1912. 



Private practice, Dec, 1912. 
Reported in Forest y Stream, 
28 Dec, 1912. 



Club contest, Chicago Archery 
Association, 30 August, 1913. 
Scored by Mr. Pendry. 



Best Scores of All Kinds 



117 



14. Dr. O. L. Hertig 30-172 

Pittsburgh 30-214 

30-220 







90-606 


IS- 


Miss C. M. Wesson 


30-186 




Cotuit, Mass. 


30-186 
30-222 




90-594 


16. 


W. D. Douthitt 
Pittsburgh 


89-579 


17- 


G. L. Nichols 
Chicago 


88-578 


18. 


A. R. Clark 


29-157 




Berea, Ohio 


30-206 
30-204 




89-577 


19. 


Mrs. M. C. Howell 


28-174 




Cincinnati 


30-190 
30-210 




88-574 


20. 


C. E. Dallin 

Arlington Heights, 
Mass. 


88-574 


21. 


J. S. Jiles 
Pittsburgh 


90-566 


22. 


Dr. C. S. Case 


27-175 




Chicago 


30-192 
29-199 



Club contest for the 3rd N. A. 
A. Mail Match, October, 191 3. 



Private practice, 21 July, 1915. 
Reported by letter for this 
book. 



Club contest. Scored by Dr. 
Hertig. 

Reported by Dr. Weston. 
Reported by Dr. Weston. 



Private practice, 25 July, 1883. 
Letter of 28 May, 191 7, from 
Mrs. Howell. 



Club contest of the Newton 
Archers, 10 October, 1914. 
Scored by L. C. Smith. 

Club contest Pittsburgh Arch- 
ers, 9 July, 1916. 

Reported by Dr. Weston. 



86-566 



II 


8 American 


Archery 


23- 


B. P. Gray 


29-155 


Reported by Dr. Weston. 




Boston 


30-198 
30-212 






89-565 




24. 


J. Duff 


90-562 


Private practice, 21 August, 




Jersey City 




19 16, at Jersey City. Scored 
by F. T. Leport of Kansas 
City, Mo. 


25- 


F. I. Peckham 


29-165 


Club contest, Newton Archers, 




Boston 


29-179 


9 July, 1914. Scored by L. C. 






30-218 


Smith. 




88-562 




26. 


F. E. Canfield 


87-555 


Reported by Dr. Weston. 


27. 


Mrs. B. P. Gray 


29-147 


Private practice. Scored by 




Newton Centre 


30-196 
30-210 

89-553 


B. P. Gray. 26 golds. 


28. 


Dr. J. W. Doughty 
Fort Steilacoom, 
Wash. 


89-553 


Private practice. 


29. 


S. W. Wilder 
Boston 


88-552 


Club contest, Newton Archers. 


30. 


J. A. Rose 

Crawfordsville, Ind 


• 86-550 

I. 


Reported by Dr. Weston 


31- 


Dr. H. G. Goldberg 


29-159 


Cynwyd Club contest, 27 July, 




Bala, Pa. 


30-184 
30-206 

89-549 


1915. Scored by Dr. Corson. 


32. 


Dr. S. T. Pope 


29-157 


Private practice with Arthur 




San Francisco 


29-185 
30-196 


Young, 24 May, 191 7. 



88-538 



Best Scores of All Kinds 



119 



33- 



F. N. Clay 
Newark, N- J. 



30-148 
28-184 
30-200 







86-538 


34- 


T. T. Hare 
Radnor, Pa. 


29-153 
30-172 

30-206 

89-531 


35- 


Mrs. E. E. Trout 
Wayne, Pa. 


26-150 
30-186 
30-192 




86-528 


36. 


J. H. Pendry 
Chicago 


84-520 


37- 


S. G. McMeen 
Columbus, Ohio 


28-138 
29-169 
30-212 




87-519 


38. 


L. C. Smith 
Newton Centre 


89-515 


39- 


W. B. Worstall 
ZanesvUle, Ohio 


88-514 


40. 


Tacitus Hussey 
Des Moines, Iowa 


29-147 
30-164 
30-196 

89-507 


41. 


H. L. Walker 
Chicago 


26-146 
29-173 
30-188 



Private practice. 



Private practice at Radnor, 
Pa. Fall of 1914. 



Private practice. Scored by 
E. E. Trout. 



Club contest, Chicago Archery 
Association, 1913. 

Private practice, 23 March, 
1917, on the Polo Field at 
Honolulu. Score witnessed 
and checked by Mrs. McMeen. 

Reported by Dr. Weston. 

Reported by Dr. Weston 
Private practice. 

Private practice, 3 May, 1913, 
Des Moines. Scored by Mrs. 
H. W. Turner. Mr. Hussey 
was 82 years old. 

Club contest, Chicago Archery 
Association, 1913. 



85-507 



I20 



American Archery 



Rendtorff 


DOUBLE AMERICAN ROUND 


30-200 


30-246 


30-234 


90- 680 


Private practice. 


30-208 


30-226 


30-234 


90- 668 




Maxson 


180-1348 




30-204 


30-210 


30-234 


90- 648 


Public exhibition at Wash- 


30-210 


30-216 


30-240 


90- 666 


ington Grove, Md., 11 
July, 1890. 






Elmer 






180-1314 




30-200 


30-218 


30-218 


90- 636 




29-191 


30-222 


30-242 


89- 6ss 






1 79-1 291 




W. Clark 






180-1248 


Club contest of Highland 
Archers of Wyoming, Ohio 


Taylor 






90- 612 
90- 608 






180-1220 




Bryant 






90- 610 

87- 601 




Holmes 






177-1211 




30-180 


30-210 


29-233 


89- 623 


Club contest, 22 Nov., 


29-169 


30-204 


30-214 


89- 587 


1913- 


Bishop 






178-1210 




29-177 


30-192 


30-224 


89- 593 


Private practice, 11 Jan., 


30-178 


30-200 


30-230 


90- 608 


1914. Temperature 30. 


Beach 


179-1201 




30-172 


29-191 


30-222 


89- 585 




28-160 


30-188 


30-242 


88- 590 





177-1175 



Best Scores of All Kinds 



121 



Hertig 

30-172 30-214 30-220 

Jiles 



R. Williams 



Duff 



90- 540 
90- 606 

180-1146 
90- 566 
90- 564 

180-1130 
177-1129 

90- 556 
90- 562 



Case 




180-1118 


27-175 30-192 


29-199 


86- 566 


29-169 29-181 


30-192 


88- 542 
174-1108 


Miss Wesson 




554 
546 


Mrs. Gray 


IIOO 


28-162 30-164 


30-170 


88- 496 


29-147 30-196 


30-210 


89- 553 


Mrs. Trout 




177-1049 


26-150 30-186 


30-192 


86- 528 


29-iSS 30-158 


30-206 


89- 519 


Clay 




175-1047 


28-154 28-184 


30-200 


86- 538 


28-128 30-170 


30-184 


88- 482 



A. Clark 



174-1030 
177-1025 



Club contest, 9 July, 1916. 



Ohio State Championship, 

1883. 

Private practice, 21 Aug. 

1916. Scored by Leport 

and Jiles. 



Club contest, Scottish- 
American Archers, July, 
1915- 

Private practice. Scored 
by Mr. Gray. 



15 and 17 Sept., 1914. 
Scored by Mr. Trout. 



National Tournament, 
1900. 



122 American Archery 

DOUBLE YORK ROUND 

Rendtorff 

68-308 47-237 24-156 141- 799 Private practice, 1913. 
68-336 48-234 24-154 140- 722 



279-1423 
R. Williams 

59-293 45-239 24-176 128- 708 August 9 and 10, 1885. 
62-274 45-229 24-152 131- 655 



259-1363 
G. P. Bryant 

57-269 47-235 24-142 128- 646 Shot in club contests of 
61-293 45-251 24-158 130-702 the Newton Archers, July, 

1912. 

258-1348 
H. S. Taylor 

56-260 44-204 23-147 123- 611 
117- 591 



240-1202 
W. A. Clark 

250-1192 Club contest. Highland 
Archers, Wyoming, Ohio. 
Hertig 

55-243 44-204 23-149 122-596 Both rounds shot the same 

57-245 43-199 24-134 124- 578 afternoon, Oct. 4, 1913, in 

competition with Mr. 

246-1174 Holmes. 
Holmes 

53-253 42-196 24-144 119- 593 Shot Oct. 4th and Sept. 

45-183 42-204 24-144 III- 531 27th in club contests. 



230-1124 
Richardson 

50-210 43-217 22-117 115- 545 American Record. Na- 
46-190 46-238 24-138 116- 566 tional Tournament, 1910. 

231-1111 



Best Scores of All Kinds 123 

Doughty 

51-237 41-191 21-111 113- 539 July 26 and 27, 1913, in 
49-203 42-212 22-120 113- 535 competition with Will 

Thompson. 

226-1074 
W. H. Thompson 

41-173 44-226 23-121 108- 520 October, 1882. 
50-194 43-217 24-132 117- 543 



225-1063 

SINGLE YORK RECORD 
Rendtorff 
68-336 48-234 24-154 140- 722 Private practice, 1913. 

R. Williams 

59-293 45-239 24-176 128- 708 August 9, 1885. 

G. P. Bryant 

61-293 45-251 24-158 130-702 Club contest, July, 1912. 

H. S. Taylor 
57-257 44-252 24-156 125- 665 Club contest, Chicago A. 

A., July, 191 1. 
Doughty 

123- 635 Private practice, July, 

1913- 
W. A. Clark 

63-247 48-204 24-136 135-587 October 31, 1883. 

Hertig 

55-243 44-204 23-149 122- 596 Oct. 4, 1913, with Mr. 

Holmes. 
Holmes 

53-253 42-196 24-144 119- 593 Oct. 4, 1913, in competi- 
tion with Dr. Hertig. 
Elmer 
49-201 42-226 24-152 115- 579 Private practice, Aug., 

1911. 
W. H. Wills 
41-217 42-208 24-146 117- 571 



124 



American Archery 



Richardson 








46-190 46-238 


24-138 


116- 566 National Tournament, 


W. H. Thompi 


son 




1910. 


SO-194 43- 


•217 


24-132 


117- 543 


Bishop 




23-131 
24-140 
24-142 
23-139 

94-SS2 


Reported by Dr. Weston. 


Jiles 




93-551 


Club contest, Pittsburgh Archers. 


Nichols ■ 




94-544 


Reported by Dr. Weston. 


Canfield 




24-136 
24-142 
22-134 
24-130 


Reported by Dr. Weston. 




94-542 




Adam Gray 




95-531 


Reported by Dr. Weston. 


Cincinnati 








Dr. W. C. Williams 


22-122 


Reported by Dr. Weston. 






23-141 








23-135 








21-119 






89-517 




B. P. Gray 




94-504 


Club contest. Newton Archers. 




MEN'S TEAM ROUND (60 yards) • 


Rendtorff 




96-664 


Private practice. 


H. S. Taylor 




96-638 


About 1883. Mail match with F. H. 



Walworth, of New York. Witnessed 
by H. C. Carver and Dr. Weston. 



Best Scores of All Kinds 



125 



Maxson 



W. A. Clark 



Elmer 



A. W. Houston 
Evanston, Ohio 

Holmes 

Hertig 

Sorber 

Douthitt 

A. E. Spink 
Chicago 



24-170 
24-156 
24-162 
24-142 



Reported by Dr. Weston. 



96-630 




24-176 


November 25, 1897. In Spalding's 


24-148 


Guide. 


24-146 




24-148 




96-618 




24-154 


Private match with A. C. Hale, 


21-133 


Aug. 9, 1912. 


24-160 




24-168 





93-6IS 

94-604 

95-593 
9S-S8i 
94-578 
94-574 

24-156 

24-154 
24-148 
24-122 



Aug., 1883. Member of team of the 
Highland Archers, of Wyoming, 
Ohio, at Ohio State Meeting. 

Club contest, Pittsburgh Archers, 

1913- 

Club contest, Pittsburgh Archers, 

1913- 

Club contest, Pittsburgh Archers, 

1913- 

Club contest, Pittsburgh Archers, 

1913- 

Reported by Dr. Weston. 



96-560 



126 



American Archery 



C. S. Upson 


24-156 


Reported by Dr. Weston. 


Cincinnati, Ohio 


24-134 
24-134 
23-133 






95-557 




Dr. H. E. Jones 


24-130 


Before 1914. Dr. Jones was very- 


Portland, Oregon 


24-144 


deaf and usually shot alone. Some- 




24-134 


times he shot with F. S. Barnes, the 




24-148 


bowyer. 



96-556 



Women's Scores 

Mrs. B. p. Gray, Newton Centre, Mass. 

In a letter from her husband, dated July 
I2th, 1916, Mrs. Gray's best scores were given 
as follows: 



Single Columbia Round 21-123 
22-144 
24-174 



Columbia Handicap. Nationa 
Tournament, 1914. 



67-441 
Double Columbia Round 

23-121 24-138 24-180 71-439 
24-118 24-120 24-162 72-400 

143-839 



National Tournament, 1914 



This event was so closely contested that the 
relative position of the first three ladies, 
Mrs. Gray, Mrs. Trout and Miss Wesson, 
was decided by the last arrow. 



Best Scores of All Kinds 127 

single National Round 70-398 Columbus Day Tournament of 

the Newton Archers, Newton 
Centre Playground, October 12, 
1914. 

Single American Round 29-147 Practice at Newton Centre 
30-196 Playground, June 22nd, 1915. 
30-210 Scored by Mr. Gray. 



89-553 

A Womans' Team Round mentioned in a 

letter of August 5th, 1914, is presumably her 

best. Score : 

24-138 
22-108 
22-140 
23-133 



91-S19 



At the Columbus Day Tournament at 
Newton Centre, August 12th, 1914, she won 
the Women's Team Round with 94-516. 

Mrs. M. C. Howell, Norwood, Ohio. 

Mrs. Howell won the Womans' Champion- 
ship 17 times, a record which probably will 
never be beaten. 

In response to a request, Mrs. Howell 
kindly sent her best scores for publication 
in this book, writing May 28th, 1917. They 
follow in full: 



128 American Archery 

Double National Round 

85-477 Practice. June 26th, 1883, 
46-258 



131-735 



88-436 Ohio State Meet. Pleasant Ridge. Charles 
47-283 Strong's grounds. August, 1904. 



135-719 



85-413 National Tournament. Ludlow Grove, Cincinnati. 
47-277 July loth, 1883. 



132-690 

82-402 Practice. 
44-278 



126-680 



Single National Round 

47-291 Practice. June 14th, 1884. 
24-148 



71-439 



47-261 Practice. June 12th, 1884. 
24-144 



71-405 



45-249 Practice. June 3rd, 1884. 
24-146 



69-395 



Double Columbia Round 

46-312 "My best practice score." June 30th, 1884. 

48-358 Shot in one afternoon. 

48-378 

142-1048 



Best Scores of All Kinds 129 

24-150 24-150 24-192 72-492 National Tournament at 

24-140 24-166 24-192 72-498 White Sulphur Springs. 

August, 1896. 

144-990 

24-134 24-148 24-190 72-472 Norwood, Ohio, Sept. 

24-156 24-168 24-184 72-508 29th, 1898. 



144-980 



46-272 National Tournament. Ludlow Grove, Cincinnati, 

48-316 Ohio, July 1 2th, 1883. 

48-352 



142-940 



Single Columbia Round 

23-147 Practice at Wyoming, Ohio, August 31st, 1883. 

24-180 

24-182 



71-509 



24-138 Practice. August loth, 1895. 

24-176 

24-194 



72-508 



24-166 Practice. July 28th, li 

23-163 

24-176 



71-505 



22-144 National Tournament. Dayton, Ohio, August 2ist, 

24-178 1895. 

24-182 

70-504 



130 American Archery 

(Editor's Note: It is obvious that one or 
both of the single rounds making up the 
Double Columbia Round of 1048 must have 
been greater than the scores here given.) 

Single American Round 

28-174 Practice. July 2Sth, 1883. 

30-190 

30-210 



88-574 



Ladies' Team Round (96 arrows at 50 yards) 

24-146 National Tournament, White Sulphur Springs, 

24-168 August 20th, 1896. 

24-138 

24-180 



96-632 



23-129 Also made at the National Tournament at White 

24-140 Sulphur Springs, 1896. 

24-138 

23-iis 



94-522 



(96 arrows at 40 yards) 

24-150 National Tournament, Dayton, August 23rd, 1895. 

24-158 

24-164 

24-160 



96-632 



"I allowed myself no practice arrows, 
before beginning my scoring." 



Best Scores of All Kinds 131 

Miss Cynthia M. Wesson, Cotuit, Mass. 

{Sometimes of Bryn Mazvr, Pa,) 

Writing under date of May 9th, 1916, Miss 
Wesson gives her best practice scores as 
follows : 

Single National Round 

48-314 July, 17th, 191 5. 24 golds. 
23-171 



71-485 
Single Columbia Round 

24-170 July i8th, 1915. 37 golds. 

24-182 

24-208 

72-560 

Single American Round 

30-186 July 2ist, 1915. 27 golds. 

30-186 

30-222 



90-594 

Miss Mary Williams, Chicago, III. 

On June nth, 1910, in a club contest of 
the Chicago Archery Association, when only 
12 years of age. Miss Williams shot a Single 
National Round, which made a record, so 
far as we know, for so young an archer. 

60 50 Total 

20-110 
23-141 



43-251 22-130 65-381 



132 American Archery 

While the foregoing scores show the best 
performances at the targets and ordinary 
ranges, there are many other feats of skill 
that are of interest. A succession of good 
scores are evidence of sustained power, even 
though none of them be the best the archer 
has ever made, excellent shooting may be 
done at irregular marks, or prowess in hunting 
game with the bow and arrow may demand 
recognition. 

Such deeds will be mentioned at random, 
under the names of the individuals who 
accomplished them. 
Captain F. S. Barnes, Forest Grove, Oregon. 

Shot at least three deer and a mountain 
lion. 
C. C. Beach, Battle Creek, Mich. 



Best 30 arrows at 60 yards 


30-198 


" 30 " " SO " 


30-216 


" 30 " "40 " 


30-242 



Hypothetical round 90-656 

George Phillips Bryant, Melrose, Mass. 

In answer to a letter asking for his best 
scores, Mr. Bryant said: "I enclose a record 
of what I consider the best shooting I ever 
did. York Rounds shot consecutively, July, 
1912. 



Best Scores of All Kinds 133 



100 yards 


80 yards 


60 yards 


Total 


56-246 


45-25 1 


24-152 


125-649 


56-216 


44-246 


24-150 


124-612 


52-206 


45-255 


24-152 


121-613 


55-225 


48-284 


24-128 


127-637 


57-269 


47-235 


24-142 


128-646 


61-293 


45-251 


24-158 


130-702 



My bow broke in the last end of the last 
York, which settled this run of scores." 

Mr. Gray, who saw all of these splendid 
York Rounds shot, said to the writer that 
the arrows seemed to fly down the range as 
though they were all tied to one invisible wire. 

Best 24 arrows at 60 yards 23-167 

" 30 " " 60 " 30-206 

" 30 " " 50 " 30-224 

" 30 " " 40 " 30-238 

Hypothetical round 90-668 

Frank E. Canfield, Chicago. 

In a letter to the writer, December, 1910, 
Dr. E. B. Weston says, "I once saw my 
friend Canfield shoot a little over 300 yards, 
using a 56 pound lemonwood bow and flight 
arrows of his own make. 
Dr. E. I. Cole, Ossining, New York. 

30 arrows at 20 yards 



999999 


6- 


54 


999999 


6- 


54 


799999 


6- 


52 


999997 


6- 


52 


999977 


6- 


50 



30-262 



134 American Archery 

W. J. CoMPTON, Portland, Oregon. 

In a letter dated November 5th, 1916, 
Dr. Saxton Pope gives the following account 
of this remarkable man. He is a professional 
hunter who uses a bow because he thinks it 
is more sportsmanlike than using a rifle. 

"Compton wrote out for me just what 
game he has killed, as nearly as he can 
remember. He began shooting the bow at 14 
years, in 1877, in Nebraska at the head of the 
Elkhorn River. The Sioux Indians were his 
teachers. He uses the Sioux release, a tertiary 
type, all the fingers on the string, below the 
nock, thumb lightly touching nock, a very 
powerful loose. 

He killed his first deer with a bow in 
September, 1877, shooting it in a "blow-out" 
at 10 yards distance, through the heart. 

Later in the same year he killed a fawn, 
with three arrows and much chasing. 

During the next few years he killed about 
20 deer in this country, within a radius of 
100 miles. Also four antelope, one cow elk 
three years old and one yearling. 

In 1880 he shot a buffalo, a two year old. 
He hit him about the middle but did not 
finish him, the Indians did this with guns. 



Best Scores of All Kinds 135 

This was between Crow Creek and the Little 
Missouri, almost the last stand of the bison. 

In Wyoming, in 1883, he killed a big buck 
antelope by severing his spinal cord with an 
arrow at about 50 yards. 

In Big Horn Mountains, in 1884, he shot, 
but failed to kill outright, a black bear, 
chasing him for almost an hour. In this 
place he also shot a big buck through the 
heart at 82 paces. He also made another 
heart shot at 50 yards. 

In the Cascade Mountains of Oregon he 
killed a mountain beaver, a very rare animal, 
never known to be shot with a gun. 

Besides these he has killed several hundred 
rabbits, many quail, a few ducks on the 
wing, sage hens, prairie chickens, doves, 
grouse, a few squirrels, chipmunks, ground- 
hogs, two skunks so dead they had no time 
to register a complaint, four coons, two 
badgers and some tame cats. 

I have seen him kill dozens of rabbits, 
small birds, wound two deer and kill another, 
using broad heads and a 65 pound bow. He 
can shoot an 80 pound bow. 

The best shot I ever saw, Compton made 
at this deer. We started him and, as he 



136 American Archery 

bounded down a very steep hill side, at about 
65 yards, Compton let drive. The deer was 
running quartering away from us. Just as it 
swerved slightly to enter the brush, say at 
75 yards, the arrow connected with him. 
Compton released at 65 and hit the deer, 
which was not going at full speed, at about 
75 yards. It caught him in the short ribs on 
the right side, and ranged forward, making 
an exit back of the opposite shoulder, sticking 
out a foot. The deer dashed into the under- 
growth, some small bak or laurel bushes. 
As it did so it snapped off the arrow shaft, 
leaving only the feathers visible in the side. 
Compton went and picked up the shaft. 
On its point were blood, green food and lung 
tissue. We knew we had him. About an 
hour later we found him huddled up against 
some small madrone trees, 200 yards down 
the canyon, dead. A good sized forked horn. 
Our autopsy showed that the arrow had 
penetrated the stomach, diaphragm, lung 
and base of heart. The pericardial and 
pleural cavities were flooded with blood. 

This was a beautiful shot, good luck, good 
archery, and good judgment of distance." 








Arthur Young 
Shoots fish in CaHfornia 



Dr. Saxton Pope 
and first buck for 1917 




W. J. CoMPTON and Arthur 
Young. A bird apiece 



Dr. Saxton Pope 
and his composite bow 



Best Scores of All Kinds 



137 



Mrs. John Dunlap, Jr., Wayne, Pa. 

On November 29th, 1913, shooting the 100 
yard distance of the last York in the N. A. A. 
Mall Match, she made an end of 99773 5-3 5, 
probably a record for a woman. 

Dr. Robert P. Elmer, Wayne, Pa. 

In 1915, shooting the American Round 
twice a week or oftener till after the National 
Tournament, had every score above 500. 

In September, 1917, shot eight consecutive 
American Rounds, in private practice, as 
follows : 



ember 6 


30-180 


30-214 


30-222 


90-616 


7 


29-187 


30-224 


30-216 


89-627 


" II 


30-196 


30-208 


30-224 


90-628 


" II 


30-196 


30-222 


30-216 


90-634 


14 


30-200 


30-218 


30-218 


90-636 


17 


29-191 


30-222 


30-242 


89-655 


18 


30-194 


30-200 


30-242 


90-636 


19 


30-196 


30-194 


30-222 


90-612 



The above rounds were made with a yew- 
backed yew by Barnes, 191 1, five feet ten 
inches long and weighing 48 pounds, and 
McChesney's ,arrows, 403 grains. 



Best 30 arrows at 60 yards 30-200 

" 30 " " 50 " 30-224 

" 30 " " 40 " 30-242 

Hypothetical round 90-666 



Sept. 14 as above. 
Sept. II as above. 
Sept. 17 and 18 as above, 
and at Chicago August 7, 
1915- 



138 American Archery 

Aug. 7th, 1915 6- 46 Sept. 17th, 1917 6- 46 Sept. i8th, 1917 6- 54 

6- 46 6- 50 6- 48 

17 golds 6-46 6-50 19 golds 6- 46 

12 reds 6-52 6- 48 8 reds 6- 42 

I blue 6-52 6- 48 3 blues 6- 52 

30-242 30-242 30-242 

The first ten arrows at 40 yards on Sept. 
1 8th were golds. Made 11 successive golds 
at 40 yards, being the last arrow of the first 
end, all of the second end and the first five 
of the third end, in a match at the Cynwyd 
Club, May, 191 5. Scored by Esther M. Weyl. 
6-46, 6-54, 6-50, 6-46, 6-44, 30-240. 18 
golds in all. Made with Duff's arrows. 

Best American Round shot in a match was 
made 17th September, 1916, at the Cynwyd 
Club, Cynwyd, Pa., and scored by Dr. E. F. 
Corson. 

30-196 30-216 30-228 90-640 In this 
round a Barnes' self yew (6 feet, 42 pounds) 
was used with Duff's arrows (409 grains). 
Frank C. Havens, Oakland, California. 

Best 30 arrows at 60 yards 30-202 
" 30 " " 50 " 30-212 

" 30 " " 40 " 30-246 (18 golds, 12 reds.) 



Hypothetical score 90-660 

Dr. Owen L. Hertig, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

This extract from a letter to the writer, 
dated March 20th, 191 2, is well worth pre- 
serving : 



Best Scores of All Kinds 139 

"As a boy, from the age of twelve until I 
started to college, I was, after a fashion, a 
skillful archer. Shooting home made weapons, 
unfeathered hickory arrows, tipped with Nor- 
way iron points, using primary loose, and 
placing arrow on right hand side of bow, I 
was able at short range, to do some very 
creditable and, I may say, remarkable work. 
Here are a few samples which my memory 
holds clearly and distinctly: 

Placing 10 consecutive arrows in old- 
fashioned oyster can at 20 yards, that is, 
hitting a space 4 by 6 inches. 

Shooting through an inch auger hole at 
18 feet 35 times straight. 

Hitting a pie pan thrown into the air 100 
times straight at 20 feet. 

Hitting consistently any object thrown 
into the air, no matter how small. 

Placing, at 10 yards, 95% of arrows in a 
four inch circle. 

At 20 feet shooting tin box lid 3 inches in 
diameter, from hand of boy companion and 
pinning it to the wall. This last feat I did 
repeatedly until my father caught me at it. 
The boy, A. H. Sayers, now a prominent 
attorney of my old home Waynesbury, Pa., 



140 American Archery 

was the instigator of the thing for which I 
was punished." 

The best practice shooting he has done with 
regular methods and equipment was in 
October and November, 1913, when, in 54 
consecutive rounds, 24 York, 18 American, 
and 12 Team he averaged in the York 113- 
517, in the American 88-532 and in the 
Team 93-527. In that fall he won the York 
Round in the series of 10 mail matches con- 
ducted by the N.A.A., in a field of 24. He 
shot in 8 matches with a low score 106-484, 
high 122-596 and average 114-535. In 
sending his last mail match score, in Novem- 
ber, he wrote, "I have dropped only three 
arrows out of 350 at 60 yards. In the old 
English round of 144 arrows at 60 yards I 
made 143-867. The English record is 142- 
840, made by the Rev. Rimington." 

Z. E. Jackson, Atchison, Kansas. He has 
done a great deal of hunting, especially of 
small animals and birds. While seated in a 
canoe, in 191 1, on a lake in British Columbia, 
he shot and killed a deer at 60 yards distance, 
the arrow passing through both shoulders an 
inch in front of the heart. (Thompson, 
Forest ^ Stream, March, 191 5.) 



Best Scores of All Kinds 141 

Louis W. Maxson, Washington^ D. C. 

{Deceased.) 

At Washington Grove, Maryland, on July 
nth, 1890, before a large number of spectators, 
Mr. Maxson shot three exhibition rounds 
without stopping, which, as a whole, have 
never been beaten. 





1st 


2nd 


3rd 


60 


30-186 


30-204 


30-210 


so 


30-202 


30-210 


30-216 


40 


30-242 


30-234 


30-240 



90-630 90-648 90-666 

Euclid D. Miller, Tennessee. 

Besides having killed "most every kind of 
game in this country," (see Forest y Stream, 
October 25th, 191 3), he adopted the Y-shaped 
pile from the Japanese and used it to de- 
capitate snakes. 
F. E. Perry, Battle Creek, Michigan. 

30 arrows at 30 yards 30-260, with 16 successive golds. 

Dr. Saxton T. Pope, San Francisco, Cal. 

"Strong of arm was Hiawatha; 
He could shoot ten arrows upward, 
Shoot them with such strength and swiftness, 
That the tenth had left the bow-string 
Ere the first to earth had fallen." 

(Hiawatha and Mudjekeewis, Lines 11-15.) 

In the past it has been supposed by archers 
who have tried to accomplish this feat that 



142 American Archery 

it was possible only in the imagination of 
the poet. In recent times, however, Dr. 
Pope seems to have brought it so near fulfill- 
ment that it is no longer scoffed at. In 
a letter dated November 5th, 1916, he writes: 

"I made up seven shafts with V-nocks 
and grooved so I could catch them quickly 
and feel the right side. Then I practiced 15 
minutes every day for one week; just nocking 
and releasing. Today I tried myself out and 
three times in succession I kept seven arrows 
in the air at once. Even with this I had 
time to fumble one or two and still had sixty 
feet leeway on the last arrow. With diligence 
I could easily shoot eight arrows. The first 
arrow I used was a flight arrow. It required 
eight seconds to complete its course, almost 
perpendicular." 

As other archers have been able to keep 
only three arrows in the air at once. Pope's 
explanation of his method will interest them. 

"By holding the arrows on the right side 
of the bow, drawing one after another over 
the thumb, using a release of my own inven- 
tioii, where the thumb and first finger grasp 
the arrow yet stay on the right of the string, 
assisted by the other fingers, and shooting 



Best Scores of All Kinds 143 

the first arrow as usual, I get away with this 
feat of dexterity, if not utility." 

If any man can equal Hiawatha it ought 
to be Pope, as he is a prestidigitator of the 
greatest skill, wonderfully quick of hand. 

The following quotation from an article 
called "What a Good Bow Has Done and 
Will Do," by Will H. Thompson, in Forest tff 
Stream for March, 191 5, gives an idea of the 
difficulty of Pope's accomplishment. Mr. 
Thompson is the dean of American archers 
and, as he says himself, speaks ex cathedra. 

"No man of any age, race, time or with a 
record for previous condition of servitude, 
ever could perform or ever has performed 
the feat of shooting 'so far and so fast as to 
have six arrows in the air at once.' Seriously, 
after more than fifty years of the bow, and 
much experimentation, I have never been 
able to keep three arrows in the air at one 
time but have come so near it that I feel 
sure it might be done. I feel equally sure 
that no man ever has, ever will, or now can, 
keep four in the air at one time. A very 
slight increase of speed might be secured by 
having large open nocks in the arrows, so 
that one could quickly feel the arrow on to 



144 American Archery 

the string, but the gain would not be sufficient 
to get an additional arrow (over three) into 
the air." 

Under the tutelage of Ishi and Compton, 
Dr. Pope has become a very good hunter, 
having killed a deer and a great many small 
animals. 
Professor E. J. Rendtorff, Lake Forest, 

Illinois. 

Without doubt Prof. Rendtorff is one of 
the greatest archers the world has ever seen 
He is the only American in the class of 
Horace Ford. On his private range and on 
the grounds of the Chicago Archery Associa- 
tion his shooting has been witnessed by a 
great many people who were thoroughly 
qualified to pass judgment and they unan- 
imously say that his skill is fully as great 
as his published scores would indicate. Un- 
fortunately he has been able to appear in 
only one open contest, the Pre-Olympic 
Carnival at Grant Park, Chicago, July 3rd, 
4th and 5th, 1913. On that occasion the 
wind was so high that it blew up blinding 
clouds of dust and the targets had to be firmly 
moored with guy ropes. Under such condi- 
tions his scores, which were recorded by 



Best Scores of All Kinds 145 

Homer S. Taylor, are. remarkable. They 
are: 

Double York 

42-146 45-233 23-141 110-520 

37-149 40-196 22-124 99-469 



209-s 

89-... 
30-160 30-194 30-216 90- 570 



Double American 

29-169 30-212 30-218 89- 599 



179-1169 



Team 

24-148 24-140 22-130 24-144 94-562 

The score by ends of his record breaking 
American Round are of interest to everybody. 
They are: 



60 yards 


50 yards 


40 yards 


6- 44 


6- 46 


6- 46 


6- 44 


6- 50 


6- 48 


6- 44 


6- 40 


6- 50 


6- 46 


6- 40 


6- 44 


6- 46 


6- 52 


6- 42 



30-224 30-228 30-230 90-682 

In a letter to Forest l^ Stream he says: 
*'I had distinctly seen no point of aim at 60 
yards, but judged its location subconsciously. 
At 50 yards a small space of bare ground 
helped me, while at 40 yards a darker patch 
of grass proved of assistance. In every case 
I had my direct vision on the gold and the 
indirect or secondary vision on the point of 
aim, which I need for elevation purposes 
only and not for lateral alignment." 



146 American Archery 

Dr. Henry B. Richardson, Boston^ Mass. 

Dr. Richardson is the only American archer, 
of any consequence, who has ever competed 
in the great matches of England. It is 
therefore gratifying to his countrymen to 
know that he not only held his own, in every 
event, with the best of his opponents but 
even, in the one match whose records went 
back almost to the time when archery was the 
national sport, — namely, the Scorton Arrow 
contest which began in 1673, — made the 
best score ever recorded. 

He went abroad in the summer of 1908, 
at the age of 19, while he was champion 
of the United States. The following records 
of his performances were taken from "The 
Field," by Dr. Weston. 



Royal Toxophilite Society- 




Single York Round 




Regent's Park, July 9th 








H. B. Richardson 


34-150 


36-148 23-121 


93-419 


H. P. Nesham 


31-197 


26- 88 22-112 


79-397 


Olympic Games, July 17-18 








W. Dod 


70-292 


71-299 44-224 


185-815 


Brooks-King 


68-250 


72-300 44-218 


184-768 


Richardson 


60-248 


67-291 43-221 


170-760 



On the third day of ' the tournament a 
handicap York was shot in which Richardson, 
who was scratch, made the highest mark of 



Best Scores of All Kinds 147 

105-453. Dod won the match with 82 given, 
his net being 99-453. 

Grand National. Trinity College Cricket Ground, Oxford, July 22, 
23 and 24 

Double York Round 

Richardson 88-362 75-335 38-174 201-871 

Brooks-King 77-319 72-342 43-209 192-870 

Dod, who won the Olympic Games, was seventh. 

After the shooting was all over and every- 
body thought Richardson had won, an old 
rule was dug up which said that the cham- 
pionship could be won only by a native of the 
British Isles. The match was therefore given 
to Brooks-King. 

Antient Scorton Arrow. 2^^th Annual Com- 
petition. July 2Qth. 

This competition is at lOO yards, two arrows 
being shot at an end. No specified number of 
arrows are shot, but the shooting takes two 
hours in the morning and two in the after- 
noon. At this meeting 178 arrows were shot. 

The Field says: "Mr. Richardson shot in 
great form, and made the highest score, in 
hits and score, that has ever been recorded." 



Richardson 


162-452 


Golds 9 


C. H. Coates 


61-269 


" 5 


T. T. S. Metcalfe 


50-198 


" 4 



148 American Archery 

Grand-Western. Sherbourne, August 12, 13 and 14. 
Double York Round 

Brooks-King 190-824 

T. Robinson 168-740 

Richardson 151-655 

Mid-Herefordshire Archery Society. August i8th. 
(96 arrows at 80 yards and 48 at 60 yards) 
Ingham 72-358 

Backhouse 78-357 

Richardson 60-276 

Herefordshire York Round Club. August 19th. 
Single York Round 
Richardson 77-359 

Backhouse 72-334 

Grand Northern. August 26, 27 and 28. 
Double York Round 

Keys worth 161-639 

Hussey 158-628 

Richardson 149-61 i 

Homer S. Taylor, Greenfield, Mass. Until 

lately of Chicago. 

Mr. Taylor was present at the first National 
Tournament in 1879, though only as a specta- 
tor. The next year he began competitive 
shooting and from then till the present time, 
with a lapse of a few years in the late '80s, 
he has always been one of the best shots in 
the country. Before the National Tourna- 
ment last year (1916) he had had almost no 
practice yet he won third place. The longer 
the shooting lasted the better he got. On 
the last day, shooting at a life sized silhouette 



Best Scores of All Kinds 149 

of a duck at 40 yards he put five arrows out 
of six in a space the size of a man's hand. 
It is an inspiration to every archer to see a 
man who is no longer young doing such splen- 
did work. 

From among many excellent performances 
the following twelve York Rounds, shot in 
succession, may be taken as a sample of his 
steadiness, although in 191 1 his scores, which 
are not at hand, were probably even better. 



1908 100 yards 


80 yards 60 yards 




Total 


Aug. 21 46-216 


38-190 24-152 




I 08-55 8 


Aug. 28 53-225 


43-191 24-136 




120-552 


Aug. 29 52-212 


40-174 24-128 




I 16-5 14 


Sept. 7 51-235 


41-185 22-116 




114-536 


Sept. 7 39-137 


42-196 23-127 




104-460 


Sept. 20 49-213 


40-226 22-120 




I I 1-559 


Sept. 26 50-220 


40-220 21-111 




1 1 1-55 1 


Sept. 27 39-165 


35-167 22- 92 




96-424 


Oct. 3 52-228 


41-207 21-115 




114-550 


Oct. 4 49-207 


44-204 23-119 




116-530 


Oct. 4 53-207 


43-209 22- 86 




118-502 


MuARiCE Thompson, Crawjordsville, 


Indiana. 


{Deceased.) 








Best 24 arrows at 60 yards 


24-176 






" 30 " " 60 " 


30-216 






" 30 " " 40 " 


30-244 (18 golds, II 


reds 


, I blue) 



In October, 1878, he broke 35 out of 50 
glass balls thrown into the air at 10 yards. 
(Reported in Chicago Field of that month.) 

He killed innumerable birds and animals, 
as related in *' The Witchery of Archery'"' an 



150 American Archery 

many other writings. Every archer should 

read his stories. 

Will H. Thompson, Seattle, Washington. 

Brother of Maurice Thompson and his 
companion on his hunting trips. Killed all 
kinds of birds and animals. Both men were 
invincible in off-hand shooting. 

Best 30 arrows at 60 yards 30-198 
" 30 " " 50 " 30-204 

" 30 " " 40 " 3C^236 

90-638 
Best 30 arrows at 20 yards 30-268 (29 golds, i red) 

Colonel Robert Williams, Washington, 

D. C. {Deceased.) 

Up to 1888 had made 13 Double York 
Rounds of over 1000. Eleven were in 1883. 
Arthur Young, San Francisco. 

Pope wrote: "Young killed 17 ground 
squirrels in one afternoon with the bow, at 
distances of from 10 to 40 yards. Five of 
these he killed with five successive arrows." 

"He shot 15 carp, one morning, In a back- 
water of the Tuolumne River, a feat not 
known to have been equalled by a white 
man." 

Teams 

In the Ohio State Archery Association's 
Annual Tournament in 1883, the Men's 



Best Sports of All Kinds 151 

Team of the Highland Archers, of Wyoming, 
Ohio, made the highest score ever recorded 
in this country. 

90 arrows at 60 yards 
A. W. Houston 94- 604 

W. A. Clark 95- 597 

H. W. Pollock 88- 478 

C. S. Woodruff 82- 444 

359-2123 

A very good practice score was made by 
the Pittsburgh Archers in May, 1914. 



Holmes 


92- 528 


Sorber 


91- So^ 


Hertig 


91- 457 


Jiles 


89- 423 



363-1913 

It is a pity that they did not make one 
point more to commemorate the year! 

The following is translated from "Le Tir a 
I'Arc;" "Finally, we mention for the sceptics 
who deny the possibility of shooting on the 
wing with the bow, that Maurice Thompson 
made the American record for it in 1894. 
He has, in fact, in a public tournament, 
broken 38 glass balls, and in a private match 
48, out of 50 thrown into the air at a distance 
of about 12 metres." 



152 American Archery 



CHAPTER XIII 

The Reddendo Arrows 
By J. Mark Mauser 
N 19 14 Mr. James Duff, of the Scottish- 



I 



American Archers of Jersey City, made a 
trophy to be competed for by the various 
archery clubs, with the idea of bringing 
them into more frequent contact. It con- 
sists of a pair of arrows, beautifully inlaid 
with ebony, feathered with the finest of 
white goose feathers, tipped with barbed 
bronze points and laid parallel upon a finely 
polished oak board. 

These handsome shafts are copied from the 
arrows which the Royal Company of Archers, 
the King's bodyguard for Scotland, present 
to the monarch on his formal visits to that 
country, a feu-duty, or "Reddendo," by virtue 
of which they have held their charter since 1703. 

Duff's "Reddendo Arrows" are shot for 
under the following conditions: 

A challenge must be given at least thirty days before the match. 
The match may be the American Round, the Team Round or the 
York Round, but the round selected must be agreeable to both, or 
all, sides. 



The Reddendo Arrows 



153 



There is no maximum limit to the number of archers on a 
team, but not less than four may compete. One team may contain 
more archers than the other; in which case the best scores of the larger 
side shall be counted, equal to the number of those of the smaller 
team. 

The first challenge was sent by the Scottish- 
American Archers to the Wayne Archers, the 
match taking place at Jersey City on June 
20th, 1914, with the following scores: 



Wayne Archers 

Dr. R, P. Elmer 
J. M. Mauser 
A. C. Hale 
G. W. Watt 
E. E. Trout 
C. L. Lehman 



Scottish-American Archers 



90- 530 
77- 405 
70- 376 
47- 229 
42- 212 
49- 181 

375-1933 



R. McNeil 

F. N. Clay 
J. McCrae 
J. Duff 

G. Milne 
J. Cleland 



69- 323 

58- 306 

59- 283 
61- 269 
56- 256 

60- 244 

363-1681 



A challenge from the newly formed Walden 
Archers, of the Lehigh Valley, was almost 
immediately sent to the Wayne club and 
accepted, with this result: 



August 1st, 1914 








Wayne, Pa. 








Wayne Archers 




Walden Archers 




Dr. Elmer 


90- 560 


J. M. Mauser 


90- 522 


T. T. Hare 


87- 453 


J. M. Ramsey 


SI- 233 


A. C. Hale 


66- 304 


H. J. Lentz 


37- 183 


E. E. Trout 


45- 211 


Rutter 


27- 105 




288-1528 


205-1043 



154 



American Archery 



The Walden Archers, although defeated, 
continued to put in a lot of practice and 
again challenged the Wayne club, this time 
with more success. 



Sept. 26th 


I, 1914 














Laurys 


Station, Pa. 














Walden Archers 




Wayne 


Archers 






J.M. 


Mauser 


8s- 


48s 


Di 


•. Elmer 


86- 


S16 


G. Mauser 


86- 


474 


A. 


C. Hale 


6S- 


341 


J.M. 


Ramsey 


6S- 


29s 


E. 


E. Trout 


58- 


264 


H.J. 


Lerch 


66- 


294 


C. 


L. Lehman 


45- 


169 




302- 


1548 


254- 


1290 



The next match, on a challenge from 
Wayne, ended the season. 



Oct. 24th, 1914 








Wayne 








Walden Archers 




Wayne Archers 




J. M. Mauser 


86- 500 


Dr. Elmer 


90- 584 


G. Mauser 


86- 436 


E. E. Trout 


75- 369 


H. J. Lerch 


73- 293 


A. C. Hale 


73- 347 


H. J. Lentz 


66- 290 


F. L. Bodine 


57- 253 


J. M. Ramsey 


57- 259 


C. L. Lehman 


44- 156 




348-1778 


339-1709 



Next year the Jersey Scotchmen issued a 
challenge to the Walden Archers and once 
again the Lehigh men were victorious. 



The Reddendo Arrows 155 



Oct. 23rd. 1915 
















Jersey City 
















Walden Archers 




Scottish-Americans 






H 


J. Lentz 


84- 


480 


T. 


DufF 




80- 


408 


I. 


M. Mauser 


82- 


422 


T. 


McCrae 




77- 


sSt; 


H 


J. Lerch 


80- 


366 


G 


. Milne 




72- 


340 


G. 


Mauser 


68- 


322 


Rev. E. I. 


Cole 


67- 


321 



314-1590 296-1454 

In 1916 the Jersey club turned the tables 
on the Walden Archers in a match held at 
Sheepshead Bay, N. Y., in connection with 
the Open Championship Archery Tourna- 
ment.. 

May 24th, 1916 

Sheepshead Bay, N. Y. 

Scottish-Americans Walden Archers 

J. Duff 79- 413 J. M. Mauser 86- 484 

J. M. Cleland 60- 316 H. J. Lerch 63- 281 

J. McCrae 63- 309 H. J. Lentz 62- 240 

G. Milne 66- 306 G. Mauser 43- 143 

238-1344 254-1178 

This trophy has added much to the interest 
in archery in the Middle Eastern States, for 
instance the Idea of winning it was the direct 
means of creating the well known Walden 
Archers, of Laurys Station. As a rule a 
match has formed a nucleus for a much 
larger contest at the same time, many other 
archers, both men and women, participating 
in the shooting and sociability. It is to be 
hoped that challenges will soon be issued by 
Boston, Chicago, Pittsburgh and other clubs. 



156 American Archery 



CHAPTER XIV 

Scoring by "Points" 
By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 

ARCHERS of the future may wonder 
what is meant when they read, in a 
list of winners, the expression, "A had the 
best score but B won on points.'''' 

The fact is that when the National Archery 
Association was organized it was thought 
best to conform the methods of shooting 
and scoring with those in use in England, 
partly for the reason that the English were 
supposed to have found out from experience 
what the best things were and partly so that 
it would be more easy to compare the per- 
formances of the archers on both sides of the 
ocean. 

For some unknown reason the English 
were in the habit of keeping what might be 
called a score of the score. In other words, 
after adding up the actual values of the hits 
they gave to the figures a secondary or 
arbitrary value by awarding "points" on a 
purely factitious basis and thereby deciding 



Scoring by "Points" 



157 



the outcome of the match. The specific 
meaning of this can be understood by study- 
ing the following tables, which show how the 
"points" for the different events, were 
awarded. 



York Round 






National Round 




Greatest Total Score 


2 


points 


Greatest Total Score 


2 


points 


" Hits 


2 


(( 


" Hits 


2 


<< 


" 100 yard Score 




point 


" 60 yard Score 


I 


point 


" " " Hits 




" 


" " " Hits 


I 


<< 


" 80 " Score 




(< 


" 50 " Score 


I 


" 


" " " Hits 




" 


" " " Hits 


I 


<< 


" 60 " Score 




<( 








" " " Hits 




C( 









The American and Columbia Rounds were 
decided In a similar manner. 

The second National Tournament, at 
Buffalo, was awarded on score, not on points, 
but in the following year the authorities 
decided to use the point system again and 
then for thirty years it remained, to be a 
bone of contention and a source of 111 feeling 
at many a tournament. 

The unfairness of the method lay in the 
fact that It permitted an outsider to step In 
and rob the man who had done the best 
shooting of some of his points. While a great 
number of cases might be cited we will take 



158 American Archery 

one that occurred in the Eastern Archery 
Association in 1914 and which may be found 
on page 7. Or again, in the National Tourna- 
ment of 191 3 G. P. Bryant was nosed out 
of first place by Dr. J. W. Doughty in the 
following manner: 





Bryant 


Doughty 


Total Score 


832 2 points 


802 points 


Total Hits 


176 " 


178 2 " 


Score at lOO 


279 " 


282 I " 


Hits at 100 


65 " 


66 I point 


Score at- 80 


315 I point 


254 " 


Hits at 80 


67 I " 


66 " 


Score at 60 


238 " 


266 I " 


Hits at 60 


44 " 


46 " 



4 6 

This example is not like that taken from 
the Eastern A. A. because here no third party 
intervened. Still, the fact remained that the 
man whose arrows had totalled up the highest 
figure did not win the match. 

The only good argument for the point 
system was that at the lOO yard range it 
required skill to hit the target at all, for 
instance eight hits in the white, out of eight 
arrows, would show more skill than one hit 
in the gold with seven misses, and that the 
point system, by giving credit for the number 
of hits, recognized that fact. As this reasoning 



Scoring by ^'Points" 159 

could not be held by anyone to apply to the 
American and Columbia Rounds the point 
system was abolished for them in 1913, two 
years before it was done away with alto- 
gether. It was not till 1915 that the opinion 
became universal that the system was cumber- 
some, archaic and disagreeable. When the 
new constitution was adopted at the Annual 
Business Meeting of that year the opportun- 
ity was taken to adopt the present method 
which certainly seems, in its practical working, 
to be the simplest and best. 




i6o American Archery 

CHAPTER XV 

Flight Shooting 

By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 

TO THOSE who do not object to walking^ 
no branch of archery is more fascinating 
than flight-shooting. There is an exhilaration 
about it which is due partly to, the greater 
physical effort required and partly to the 
esthetic enjoyment of the free flight of the 
shaft, which looks as though it would pierce 
the very clouds. Those archers who make 
their own tackle are apt to practice flight- 
shooting, because the problems arising in 
connection with it are almost impossible to 
solve and afford unending opportunity for 
experimentation in manufacturing flight bows 
and flight arrows. Few men are agreed on 
what is the best equipment, for instance one 
will claim that long arrows are the best, while 
another will argue for short ones and yet, 
when put to the practical test of shooting, 
both will get good results. We can only tell 
what our experience has found to be of 
value, hoping that others will continue to 



Flight Shooting i6i 

get pleasure and profit by trying out their 
original ideas. 

Bows 

The shorter the bow the farther it will 
cast. This is because a short bow will resume 
its original shape more quickly from a full 
draw than will a long weapon. The only 
reason for bows being as long as they usually 
are is the prevention of breaking. The 
Turkish and Persian bows are only about 30 
inches long but they will shoot farther than 
any other bows in the world. In June, 191 3, 
Ingo Simon, an Englishman, at Le Touquet, 
France, shot 459 yards and 8 inches with a 
Turkish bow said to be 200 years old. Still 
longer shots are probably authentic. In 1795, 
Mahmoud Effendi, Secretary of the Turkish 
Embassy at London, sent home for a bow, 
in order to show the superiority of the weapons 
of his country over those of England, and, in 
a carefully witnessed trial, made a shot of 
482 yards. 

The Turkish bows can be so short because 
they are not made of wood only, but are com- 
posite bows with a belly of horn and a back 
of sinew laid on a thin, flat piece of wood 
which forms a central core. 



1 62 American Archery 

The fact that short bows of the English 
pattern will cast far is borne out by experience. 
For instance, Mr. Duff made a bow, in 1910, 
of lemonwood back and washaba belly, which 
was only five feet long and weighed 87 pounds 
for a 21 inch draw. Three trial shots gave 
241^ yards for the first two arrows, which 
landed together, and 276 yards 9 inches 
for the third. Mr. Duff was certain that the 
bow was good for many yards more than this, 
if he could have practiced with it but, on the 
fourth draw, the lemonwood back pulled 
apart, breaking the bow. If the back had 
been hickory, with its much greater tensile 
strength, the catastrophe might not have 
occurred. It seems probable that if one 
could so combine his materials as to make 
a five foot bow, with hickory back and hard 
wood belly, drawing 90 pounds for 21 inches 
and able to stand a still further draw to 25 
inches, he would have a weapon that would 
do all that could be expected of a bow of the 
English type. For such a bow small blocks 
glued to the belly and nocked for the string 
are better than horns. 

Although the bow just described represents 
the choice of the writer, it must be stated 



Flight Shooting 163 



that the majority of authorities flatly deny 
that the use of such a strong weapon is advis- 
able. In support of their view many cases 
like the following can be cited. 

Horace Ford made his best shot of 308 
yards with a 68 pound yew. 

Mr. Muir, of Edinburgh, although a very 
skillful archer and a man of great strength, 
found that he could shoot farther with a 60 
pound bow than with a heavier one. 

Mr. Troward, of England, in 1798, made 
340 yards up and down wind with a self-bow 
pulling 63 pounds and 29 inch flight arrows. 
The bows used in all of these shots were 
presumably six feet long. 

On the other hand Sir Ralph P. Galway, in 
1905, in the presence of James Dufl^, shot 
376 yards with a Turkish bow weighing 100 
pounds and the bow used by Ingo Simon in 
his record breaking shot weighed 80 pounds. 

Reflexion adds to the cast of a bow. The 
Turkish bows are reflexed to such an extreme 
degree that, when unstrung, they vary in 
form from a curve like the letter C to the 
shape of a pretzel. The only Turkish bows 
known to be in this country are in museums 
and there one usually sees them with the 



164 American Archery 

string put on while they are still unbent. 
This is because it seems incredible to the 
curators that they could possibly be bent 
around as far as they should be in order to 
be strung, even though the situation of the 
nocks would clearly indicate such a fact to 
an archer. Such very great reflexion is only 
possible in a bow that is made of much more 
elastic materials than wood alone, and also 
in a bow that is broad and flat, because a half 
round bow, like those of the English would 
have a strong tendency to side twist if drawn 
out of line. However, a long bow reflected 
to a moderate angle is somewhat quickened 
thereby, because the fibres of the wood are 
already in a state of greater tension, and 
therefore greater resiliency, before the draw 
is begun. 

Arrows 

The success of a flight shot depends more 
on the arrow than on the bow. 

The Turks use a 21 inch arrow which is 
drawn back to 25 inches. This extra distance 
is made possible by the use of a bone guide 
fastened to the wrist, so that the arrow can 
be drawn behind the bow. A similar contriv- 
ance is necessary for the short bow which 



Flight Shooting 165 

the writer has advocated above, if a short 
arrow is to be used for a long draw. It is 
objected that if the idea of a short shaft and 
long guide were carried to its logical extreme 
the result would be a crossbow. This, how- 
ever, is only a theoretical objection, for 
experimentation will soon convince one that 
there is a practical limit in dimensions 
beyond which it is not advantageous to go, 
and that this limit is placed where the 
essential features of long bow shooting are in 
no sense lost. Ingo Simon and Sir Ralph 
Galway used guides fastened to the wrist 
in the Turkish fash'on. The writer uses one 
made of bone i}4. inches wide and 6 inches 
long, which is wired to the bow at the arrow- 
plate. 

The arrow with which the writer won the 
Flight Shoot at the National Tournament in 
191 1 was an ordinary Whitman target arrow, 
weighing about 300 grains, with the feathers 
cut down to mere nubbins. The bow was 
a 65 pound lemonwood, 5 feet 8 inches long, 
fitted with the guide just mentioned. On 
that occasion Mr. Homer Bishop had three 
barrelled flight arrows, one of which was 
made hollow, to obtain light weight with 



l66 American Archery 

stiffness. They were tried by the writer with 
the same bow but would not fly nearly so 
far, possibly because they had the ordinary 
balloon feathers of target arrows. 

The arrows with which Mr. and Mrs. 
Bryant, Mrs. Frentz and Mr. Jiles have won 
the flight shoot in recent years have all been 
similar. They have been about 28 or 29 
inches long, weighing about 250 grains, some- 
what barrelled, except in the case of bamboo, 
in order to have enough spine, with the center 
of gravity near the center of the shaft, with 
a small steel pile and with two little feathers 
about ^ Inch long and j4 inch high. Mrs. 
Frentz's was scraped down from a Japanese 
arrow of reed. The others were bamboo or 
footed spruce. 

Three flight arrows that Aldred, of England, 
made for the writer were 29 Inches over all, 
weighed 298 grains, were barrelled and footed 
with lance. The greatest diameter was ex- 
actly YE inch. The piles were 1^ x ^ 
inch. There were three triangular feathers, 
each 2^ inches long and tV Inch high. 
When one of these was scraped down to 260 
grains It still seemed to be stiff enough but it 
would not fly as far as it had before, nor 



Flight Shooting ' 167 



as far as its unaltered fellows. In fact It is 
not always the lightest arrow that fiies 
farthest, even though it have a good spine. 
The only sure test is in the shooting. 

A very important influence on the carry of a 
flight arrow is exerted by the feathers. When 
one considers that the chief obstacle to a 
speeding arrow is the resistance of the air, 
it is obvious that the feathers should offer 
as little surface as is compatible with the 
maintenance of a straight flight. As has 
been said, American archers use two very 
tiny vanes, Aldred favors three trimmed 
turkey feathers of the dimensions given 
above. The ancient Turkish arrows had 
rather soft feathers with untrimmed edges. 
Most authorities agree that the best vanes 
are drawn off of the short side of a remex 
from a turkey or peacock and left uncut, 
except for length. In all cases the feathers 
should be set close to the nock. 

It is undoubtedly desirable that the pile 
should be very light but even here there is a 
limit. Experiment will show that the same 
flight arrow will often go farther with a light 
steel pile than without one. 



1 68 American Archery 

Shooting 

Using the same artillery, an expert flight- 
shooter can do more than an archer who has 
not practiced this specialty. Much therefore 
depends on technique. 

An arrow will have the greatest possible 
trajectory when loosed from an elevation of 
45 degrees. Nearly everyone is inclined to 
aim much lower than this and therefore, in 
order to become familiar with what the eleva- 
tion is really like, it is well to have a friend 
stand beside the archer while he is practicing, 
and hold up a right angled triangle with the 
hypotenuse parallel to the shaft. This 
need be done only once or twice, and the 
triangle can be made in a minute by simply 
taking a square piece of paper and folding 
two opposite corners together. 

The loose should be very snappy, even 
slashing, and done at the exact moment that 
the tip reaches the arrow plate, while the 
fingers are still drawing. There must be 
not even the suspicion of a pause before 
releasing. 

At the instant of loosing the left hand 
should feel as though it were pressing the bow 
away from the archer as strongly as possible. 



Flight Shooting 169 



Mr. Will H. Thompson, whose great experi- 
ence entitles him to a most respectful hearing, 
expressed his views on flight shooting in the 
following letter, dated September 13th, 191 1. 

"I wish to say a few words about flight 
shooting. About 24 years ago I gave very 
great study to that matter and broke bows 
by the dozen trying to reach 300 yards, but 
finally failed by two yards. I passed 290 
yards in still weather, shooting back and 
forth, with a snakewood bow backed with 
lance, using a barrelled 4.3 arrow, 28 inches 
long with two feathers about like this: 




These were thin vanes from the narrow side 
of turkey feathers. The same bow would 
reach 235 yards with a 4.9 28 inch target 
arrow having ordinary feathers. The bow 
was six feet long. Of course a shorter bow 
will carry farther but will surely break. The 
Turkish horn bows are usually about 30 
inches long, recurved, or 'set back,' so that 
a 28 inch draw gets a great deal out of them. 
The greatest distances made by them were 



lyo American Archery 

made upon the same principle used by you, 
i. e. the bow carried a 'pipe' for a short, 
very Hght arrow to be drawn inside the bow. 
Using a 25 inch arrow weighing less than 2.6, 
and of rigid material, such as bamboo, with 
a very light head, a flight of 350 to 400 
yards is attainable. But with a 5' 10" yew- 
backed yew, with a perfect flight arrow, 
(bamboo being the best yet found), 28 inches 
in length, 300 yards can be made with a 58 
pound bow. I really do not believe that any 
ordinary man can loose a stronger bow than 
58 pounds, possibly 60 pounds, so as to shoot 
any further. What he gains in strength he 
loses in keenness of loose. I have tried so 
many trained athletic archers and found no 
exception, that I am satisfied that nothing 
can possibly be gained by going beyond 60 
pounds for any purpose. Master a 55 pound 
yew-backed yew; get a perfect 4.0 barrelled 
arrow of 28 inches, with only two narrow, 
short feathers set close to the nock, and with 
a rather swift (no jerk) continuous draw, 
loose without stopping the draw, the left hand 
hard gripping the bow, and you may com- 
mand 300 yards. I could never quite do it." 



Origin for Point of Aim 171 

CHAPTER XVI 

An American Origin for the Point of Aim 
By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 
ORACE FORD has always been given 



credit for being the first man to use 
the method of shooting by what he, himself, 
called a "Point of Aim." In other words he. 
is supposed to have originated the idea of 
trying to hit the target by sighting over the 
tip of the arrow at some other object, no 
matter what, which was so placed that it 
would cause the arrow thus aimed to have the 
proper elevation. That he really was the 
first person who taught that better shooting 
could be done in this way than by centering 
the gaze fixedly on the bulls-eye, is undoubted. 
On the other hand it seems very likely that 
such a simple help to aiming should have been 
discovered and used by various individuals 
who, for unknown reasons, did not leave any 
record behind them. 

Last winter I unexpectedly obtained proof 
of this surmise in corresponding with Mr. 
Frederick Deming, of Litchfield, Connecticut, 



172 American Archery 

an archer who still possesses enthusiasm for 
our sport and practices it successfully although 
well advanced in years. 

Knowing that they will be of interest to 
every American archer, I quote two letters 
from him which afford unquestionable evi- 
dence that he hit upon the idea of the "Point 
of Aim" quite independently of Ford or 
anyone else. 

Litchfield, Conn., Nov. 30th, 1916. 
Dr. Robert P. Elmer, 

Dear Sir: 

It was a disappointment to me that I was 
unable to attend the Archery Meeting in 
Jersey City, for I had promised myself the 
pleasure of a talk with you on Archery. At 
the age of eighty-four I cannot expect to 
shoot much longer. However, there is one 
point which has always remained a mystery 
to me, probably because In early life I received 
no instruction or advice from an expert 
archer, though I read Ascham, Roberts, 
Hansard and Ford. 

The point to which I refer is this : while at 
eighty yards I can get aim on the four ft. 
target, at sixty yards or under, my arrow 
goes over the target, even if my aim is at the 



Origin for Point of Aim 173 

lowest edge of the target; so I have always 
dreaded the short distances. Can you kindly 
suggest any remedy for this ? 

My bow is 40 lbs., arrows about four 
shillings weight, although I have tried five 
shillings with no great success. Can it be 
that an exceedingly weak bow and exceedingly 
heavy arrows would help my sixty yard 
shooting ? 

I enclose diagram giving approximately 
the makeshift to which I resort to hit at 
sixty yards. Pardon me for troubling you in 
this matter but I really am anxious to know 
what has impeded me all my archery life in 
this short distance shooting. 

Very truly yours, 

Frederick Deming. 

The way I have to get on the target by 
placing a golf ball on the ground about fifty 
feet in front of the target is not, I suppose, 
legitimate archery, but it is the only way I 
have ever succeeded in "getting there." 



174 American Archery 

On receipt of this letter I at once wrote to 
him a full explanation of the "Point of Aim" 
and all it had meant in the development of 
modern archery. As an illustration I spoke 
of how an artillery man, by sighting with 
relation to some known object, could fire over 
the top of a mountain and hit a mark in the 
valley beyond. 

Litchfield, Conn., Dec. 3rd, 1916. 
My dear Doctor Elmer: 

Your letter is a decided relief to me, for, 
all my archer life, I have furtively placed on 
the ground dandelion heads and the like, to 
get my point of aim. Twenty years before I 
read Ford I used to place a hand box on the 
ground as a guide to the target, being careful 
to substitute something very small if there 
were any spectators. My own hard experience 
suggested this expedient for getting the 
"length." Long years afterward the following 
lines from Ford's book confirmed me in the 
belief that aiming at anything but the target 
was only a makeshift. Ford says, "One I 
knew, for sixty yard shooting, used actually 
to fix a bit of stick in the ground for that 
purpose;" but Ford does not tell what else to 
doy says it will "fail surely in matches on 



Origin for Points of Aim 175 

strange ground," etc. Now, however, I 
shall mark the "point of aim" with a clear 
conscience. 

I was in the Crimea during the siege of 
Sebastopol in 1855. Your artillery illustration 
recalled to my mind the shot and shell that 
passed very far over our heads, from Forts 
Constantine and the Wasp battery. Our party, 
three Americans, had no business to be there, 
but it was just a hoys^ venture. 

Thanking you for your letter throwing light 
on the "point of aim." 

Most sincerely yours, 

Frederick Deming. 




176 American Archery 



CHAPTER XVII 

Arrowhead, the Archer's Flower 

By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 
T THE Annual Business Meeting of the 



A 



N. A. A. in 1914 it was voted that the 
Arrowhead be accepted as the official flower 
of archery. 

The plant is an exquisitely beautiful one 
that grows along water courses where the 
current has been slowed by indentations of 
the bank. It owes its name to the shape of 
its leaves. These vary somewhat but, on the 
whole, bear an extraordinary resemblance to 
an old fashioned broad head arrow of giant 
size. The flower is pure white and shows 
well against the dark, rich green of the foliage. 
As a table decoration at an archery banquet 
nothing could be better or more appropriate 
than this plant. 

The principal varieties of Arrowhead, or 
Sagittaria, are: 

Sagittaria Variabilis. This is the common 
variety and gets its name from the fact that 



The Archer^ s Flower 177 

the leaves vary greatly in size while preserving 
the characteristic arrowhead form. 

Sagittaria Montevidiensis (Giant Arrow- 
head). This attains gigantic proportions, 
growing 4 to 5 feet high with leaves 15 inches 
long. The flower scape towers above the 
foliage, bearing white flowers with a dark 
blotch at the base of each petal. 

Sagittaria Japonica. Double Flowered. 

Sagittaria Sinensis. The leaves are dark 
green, broad and strong. It grows freely and 
may be planted in an aquarium. 

Sagittaria Natans. This is raised primarily 
for an aquarium plant. It has long, almost 
strap-like leaves, that float in the water. 




178 American Archery 



CHAPTER XVIII 

French and Belgian Archery 

By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 

ON SEPTEMBER 8th, 1913, the New 
York Sun printed a cable dispatch from 
Paris which must have caused a feeling of 
surprise in any native American archer who 
may have read it. It was as follows: 

*' There were 1483 competitors in the annual 
archery match at Noyon, in the Department 
of the Oise, which was completed today. It 
was won by Prodean, who will hence forth 
have the proud title of Grand Archer of 
France. 

"The competition, which is keenly dis- 
puted by 700 clubs, has been in uninterrupted 
existence for 400 years. Today the archers 
with unerring precision split the targets with 
wonderful force." 

Most of us have heard, all our lives, of 
archery as a peculiarly English sport and I, 
for one, confess that I was amazed when I 
learned that the interest in the art is very 
much more widespread in Belgium and North- 



French and Belgian Archery 179 

eastern France, and the number of bowmen 
vastly greater there than in England. 

In England it is a rich man's game, where- 
as on the Continent it is a pastime of the 
masses. A French viscount who is a member 
of the Wayne Archers says that he never 
heard of it in France although he lived in 
Paris, where some archery societies exist. 
Belgian archers whom I have talked with 
in Chicago said that it was a game for the 
workingman, in the long summer evenings 
after the day's task was done. 

The bows they use are beautiful instru- 
ments. They are all backed, sometimes of 
more than two laminae, and are made of hard 
wood, usually of a dark color. The handle 
does not shade off into the bow as ours do 
but ends in a wide topped metal ferrule, 
which sometimes is still further broadened by 
a little projection, on which the arrow rests 
instead of on the hand. Quite often the bow 
is made in two parts that screw together in 
the handle. They use much more powerful 
weapons than we do. The weakest that I 
have seen were about 60 pounds in weight 
while many are fully 80 pounds and some are 
said to be as much as 100. An artistic feature, 



i8o . American Archery 

often introduced, is the carving of the top 
horn into, the semblance of some animal, bird 
or reptile's head. 

The arrows are very much thicker than 
ours and of different appearance. They are 
strongly chested and have a large horn head 
which may be an inch thick at its base. The 
shaft swells out to make a smooth joint with 
the thick pile so that the whole end has a 
sort of bulbous look. The shaft is never 
painted and the feathers are fastened on, 
not by glue, but by bright colored silk thread. 

The archers that I have met had never 
heard of the "Point of Aim" as we understand 
the term, and seemed to scorn the idea. They 
shoot as the English did before the time of 
Ford, fixing the eye on the gold and drawing 
to the ear. The accompanying illustration 
is from a snap shot of a member of "La 
Compagnie de St. Sebastien" at Chantilly. 
It shows the draw to the ear, or at least in 
the line of that organ, and also shows the 
release by opening the fingers, as our Miss 
Wesson does, rather than by contracting 
them, as most of the rest of us do. 

The shooting is sometimes at a popinjay, or 
at several of them placed on iron branches at 



French and Belgian Archery i8i 

the top of a pole which may be, according to a 
Parisian paper of May 20th, 1913, which is 
in my possession, as much as 30 metres in 
height. One bird is higher than the rest and 
is called "Le Coq." 

Usually a target is set up for the mark, as 
with us, but the freedom of our ranges is 
lacking. Instead of a spacious green lawn the 
general arrangement is more that of a shooting 
gallery for practice with firearms. There are 
two sheds, fifty metres apart and open on 
the sides toward each other. In one the 
archer stands and in the other is a butt 
against which the target face is fastened. 
All the shooting is at the one distance of 50 
metres. Each man shoots one arrow and 
then gives place to his successor. A marker, 
who is protected by a screen, draws forth the 
shaft after each shot and calls back the result. 
At Chicago, where I saw the Belgian archers, 
most of the men had brought only one arrow 
to the range with them. Mr. Wallace Bryant, 
of Boston, who has shot with the archers of 
Paris and who is especially well qualified to 
judge, says that the skill they display is 
extraordinary, nearly all the arrows hitting 
the center. 



1 82 American Archery 

According to the French paper quoted 
above, the name of which is torn off, the chief 
prize in the grand annual tournament is 
five thousand francs. 

Early in the war some of the Belgian 
archers shot messages across the border into 
Holland and it was reported that one of these 
shafts hit a Dutchman in the neck. 

Of course the very territory that Contin- 
ental archery flourished in is the one where 
the war is raging most fiercely. Let us hope 
that the great conflict will not wipe the sport 
out forever in a locality where its hold has 
been so popular and strong. 




Woods for Bowmaking 183 



CHAPTER XIX 

Choice of Woods for Bowmaking 

By James Duff 

IT IS not our Intention to mention in these 
pages any of the dozens of different kinds 
of wood that have been called into private 
use for bowmaking; but rather to confine 
the article to what may be termed standard 
woods in use by the craft, such as Yew, 
Lemonwood, Lancewood, Washaba and Osage- 
Orange; these all having been tried and found 
suitable for the purpose. 

Yew 

This wood has long been known as the 
best of all bow woods, for, given a straight 
grained stave of suitable length, free from 
pins and damp-sap, one has the makings of as 
nearly a perfect bow as it is possible to obtain. 
The pins can easily be seen as black spots in 
the wood and the damp-sap as a bluish line 
just under the white sap, or back, and running 
its whole length. 

Wide, or coarse, grained yew is flabby and 
lifeless and unfit for bowmaking. It is also 



184 American Archery 

rather liable to chrysal, or even fracture, with- 
out any apparent reason. 

Throughout almost the whole of the United 
States, usually on the hills and mountains, the 
wood grows in various quantities and qual- 
ities, but, unfortunately, it is generally of the 
shrub and bush variety and useless for the 
bowyer's purpose. It can be found in tree 
form on the western ranges of mountains, 
while in the East, on the Catskill hills, single 
yews can be seen growing in isolation; not in 
clumps as in the West. It is said by a well 
known woodsman, who has travelled the 
United States all over, that Georgia abounds 
in yew; and we know that in South America 
it is rather prolific, and that tons of it are 
shipped every year to the Swiss carvers, 
as can be seen in the well known cuckoo 
clocks. So it would seem that yew is not so 
scarce a domestic wood as one might im- 
agine. 

The Names "Spanish" and "Italian" can 
be taken in these days to be descriptive of 
any kind of yew that is of very fine growth, 
but not to indicate a product of Italy or 
Spain. It is very doubtful if one would be 
recompensed today for a tour of the once 



Woods for Bowmaking 185 

famous yew belt; for example the Apennines 
were virtually depleted many years ago, so 
that the tasso nasso, or yew, has become almost 
unknown there. 

In selecting the wood, the bowyer will do 
well to avoid the female tree, if a choice be 
possible, as, in nearly every case, it will be 
of inferior grade when made into a bow. It 
takes nearly twice as much wood to make a 
bow of a given weight as does the male. A 
careful examination of the leaves of the tree 
will show at once if it be female, either by the 
presence of scarlet berries, or by the marks 
of where they have been when in seed; 
characteristics wholly lacking in the male 
tree. 

Bowyers have been taught by experience 
that it is immaterial whether they cut down 
the tree in the fall or in the spring, as the 
result is the same in the finished bow. 

The best trees are found on the hills and 
mountains, where the ground is dry, or where 
the water washes past the roots and does not 
lie soaking. 

One should mark carefully, before cutting 
down, the side of the tree which is exposed 
to the north, as therein lies the best part. 



1 86 American Archery 

Lemonwood and Lancewood 
A common error among archers Is that of 
confusing lemonwood with lancewood, for, 
as a matter of fact, they are entirely differ- 
ent. Let us consider the following statement 
by Mr. C. D. Mell, acting dendrologist to the 
Office of Forestry, Washington, D. C. 

"Lemonwood, botanically known as Psy- 
chHria eckloniana, a species of Ruhiaceae, is 
native to Cape Colony and often grows to the 
height of 30 feet, and from 2 to 3 feet in 
diameter. The wood is very hard, tough and 
useful. Lancewood (Black), so much used 
for carriage shafts, bov/s, etc., is botanically 
known as Guatteria virgata Dun. There is, 
however, a related wood, Duguetia guitarensis, 
native to Cuba and Guiana, which is also 
called lancewood, and although this is light 
(yellow) and very elastic, it is seldom used 
for bows, but is principally imported for the 
use of coach builders." 

Lemonwood is the wood of which perhaps 
75% of the bows in use are made. There are 
several reasons why this kind of bow should 
hold a high place, chief among them being 
the fact that several bows may be had for 
the cost of one of yew. Were it not that 



Woods for Bowmaking 187 

lemonwood has a tendency to follow the 
string, or take a set in the drawing direction, 
it would be considered as good as yew in every 
respect; but that set is inevitable, and, while 
it does not detract from the shooting quality 
of the bow, it certainly does not add to its 
appearance. 

That one need never hesitate to adopt 
lemonwood bows for shooting because of any 
supposed inferiority to those of yew, is now- 
adays generally accepted. We know that 
nearly all previous records have been broken 
by archers using them and that some of the 
most noted archers today use nothing else; 
getting as good results and as much satisfaction 
as though indulging in the most expensive yew. 

Lancewood, though somewhat similar in 
appearance to lemonwood, is of a different 
nature altogether and is much harder to 
work. As a guide to the buyer it is generally 
stained a rich, brown color with nitric acid. 
It has much more spring in it and is more 
likely to shiver into small pieces, even where 
the wood does not show a flaw. For target 
work it ranks low, as it jars the arm too much 
for accurate work, but it is certainly superior 
to yew and lemonwood for flight shooting. 



1 88 American Archery 

Lancewood can be easily known by looking 
at the grain, which will be found to be shot, 
as in beechwood. 

Washaba 

Washaba is a wood that is native to South 
Africa, and was but little known, outside of 
the bowmaking craft, until within recent 
years. It grows to a great height, often 
reaching 80 feet, and has been known to 
show a girth of 9 feet. Unfortunately there 
are two qualities of Washaba, one that is 
nearly perfect, straight grained and smooth, 
and one that is twisted in grain and very 
coarse. The diiference between the two is 
caused entirely by the conditions of growth. 
The trees that are exposed to the great gales 
on the coast of Africa are all wind-twisted, 
that is, they are distorted in shape while 
growing and, as a result, become almost use- 
less for bowmaking, the grain of the wood 
seldom running two inches alike. On the 
other hand the trees that are sheltered are 
all straight in grain and make almost ideal 
bows, especially where one seeks the sharp 
cast and long distance is desired. 

Bows made of this wood are not to be com- 
pared to those made of the woods already 



Woods for Bowmaking 189 

mentioned, because they must be backed 
to be of any use, the best material for that 
purpose being straight grained second growth 
Hickory. They are rather more trying to the 
bow arm than either Yew or Lemonwood, and 
are, therefore, not recommended for the fine 
work of the shorter ranges. For the longer 
distances they are excellent weapons, inas- 
much as the sharper cast allows of a flatter 
trajectory and, as a result, the shooter has 
the advantage of a much lower point of 
aim. 

A Washaba bow of 54 pounds weight has 
been observed by the writer to carry an arrow 
200 yards, flying almost flat, which, at the 
end of that distance, penetrated a steel 
shield TE inch thick for four inches, without 
breaking. 

The value of this wood has been recognized 
within the last few years by the makers in the 
fishing tackle trade and today most of the 
best surf casting rods carry a top piece made 
from Washaba, or Bethabara as it is known to 
the rod maker. These top pieces are very 
slender and from six to ten feet in length and 
are required to carry very heavy game fish. 
They are also very costly. 



190 American Archery 

Osage Orange 

This wood Is native to North America and 
can be found throughout the United States, 
although most of it is of the shrub variety. 
Where it is long enough for the purpose of 
bow making it is apt to be too crooked to be 
of much value. However, even though they 
are not plentiful, yet quite a few good trees 
may be had, and, as the Osage Orange is not 
known to be marketed, probably the wood 
may be had for little or nothing. 

If given a piece of Osage Orange that is 
good enough for the purpose of making a bow, 
the maker will produce a fairly good weapon, 
inasmuch as the cast is superior to anything 
outside of Washaba. Besides, the bow will 
be found to always retain its shape and the 
recoil does not take so much out of the bow 
arm as does that of Washaba, although it is a 
little greater than in Lemonwood. For this 
reason it may be called into use as an all 
round bow for every distance. The weather 
does not affect this wood as it does the more 
famous kinds, therefore, when once his point 
of aim has been secured, the shooter need not 
fash about the heat or cold, as with yew. 
This wood may be backed with either Hickory 



Woods for Bowmaking 191 

or Elm, as it is very tough, but the self bow 
gives the most satisfaction, if it can be pro- 
cured. 

Bow Woods and the Weather 

Of all the woods mentioned above. Yew 
is most affected by the weather. Sudden 
changes in the temperature, or in the baro- 
metric pressure, may cause well defined 
alterations in the cast. Yew is also more 
inclined to tire than other woods, yet, in 
spite of these drawbacks, the smooth feeling 
and easiness of draw, the almost unfelt recoil 
at the loose and the sharpness of cast all 
make the Yew the most valuable weapon. 

Lemonwood tires a little less than Yew 
but heat and cold affect its cast almost as 
much. 

Lancew(5od does not tire readily, has a 
better cast than either Yew or Lemonwood, 
and, with Osage Orange and Washaba, is 
not easily affected by the weather. 



192 American Archery 



CHAPTER XX 

Bows AND How TO Make Them 

By J. M. Challiss 

THERE comes a time in the life of every 
archer, if he is of a mechanical turn, 
when he is not satisfied with the commercial 
bow which is available at moderate cost, nor 
is his proficiency sufficient to justify the 
expenditure necessary to procure a really good 
weapon, when he naturally inquires "Why 
cannot I make a bow?" and finding no serious 
opposition to his inquiry he proceeds to 
explore a very interesting field. If he is self 
taught and has never had the benefit of 
contact with real archers, or if %e has only 
seen or used the imitation bows that are sold 
at curio shops as genuine Indian bows, his 
attempts at bow making are pathetic. And 
yet there is hardly any form of bow that the 
mind can conceive, or an amateur turn out 
that will not find its counterpart in the 
collection of Joseph Jessop, of San Diego, Cal., 
who has collected bows from all climes and all 
peoples. It is strange to note the fundamental 



Bows and How to Make Them 193 

principles that will guide a savage race in the 
fashioning of their bows, or rather the 
fashions they will follow. Many of them are 
diametrically opposed to what has been 
selected as the last word in bow construction 
among civilized peoples, and what experience 
has shown to be the best form to be followed. 
Yet these people who rely upon the bow in 
many instances for their sustenance find that 
their odd and misshapen weapons shoot and 
shoot hard. To sum the whole matter up a 
bow is simply a piece of wood, horn or metal, 
bent by the aid of a string and which propells 
an arrow by its tendency to assume its 
original position. Any stick that will bend 
will cast an arrow, some better than others. 
If the stick is fashioned in a certain shape it 
will cast the arrow better than if it is un- 
formed, and this form constitutes the science 
and art of bow making. Modern archers 
have settled upon a bow that is flat on the 
back, round on the belly, gradually tapering 
to the tips and of about six feet in length as 
the desideratum. This is commonly known 
as the long bow. The bows of many savage 
tribes are much longer and a larger percentage 
of them much shorter. The much over- 



194 American Archery 

estimated American Indian archer used a 
shorter bow. 

There is nothing intricate about bow mak- 
ing. Compared with the art of the fletcher it 
is like breaking sticks. You can make a bow 
out of most anything and in any form. Some 
are better than others, that is all. In the 
following remarks it is our purpose to give 
some simple directions, which if followed by 
one with slight skill and much care and 
patience, will result in turning out a con- 
ventional bow along English lines. The 
material out of which you will make your bow 
is the important question. If you consult 
the ordinary book or article on bows they will 
tell you that bows are made out of "yew, 
washaba or lance." That is very good. 
Where are you going to get the material.^ 
Did you ever see a tree of such.? My Century 
Dictionary does not even tell me what 
washaba is. You can buy these expensive 
and imported woods in the large cities, but 
we do not all live in the large cities. That 
being the case we have to use what we have 
at hand, and when we look over our posses- 
sions we are surprised to find the wealth of 
material we have at hand. A good bow can 



Bows and How to Make Them 195 

be made of many of the native American 
woods, and the best in the world out of 
Oregon yew. I say best for the reason that 
it has been proven in actual contest that they 
will shoot as well as the imported English 
and Italian yew bows and last longer. But 
then we do not all live in the Oregon moun- 
tains where this wood is obtainable, so we 
must look some where else. We do not have 
to look far, for in fact any wood will make a 
bow. Of course some is much better than 
others, but the fact remains that with proper 
attention given to the grain of the wood and 
sufficient length provided a bow can be made 
out of the most brittle wood. But, of course, 
a bow of nine feet in length would be out of 
the question, and that would be the length 
you would have to make your bow in order to 
use some of the woods we have at hand. The 
most common wood that is used for boys 
and Indian bows is hickory, but there are 
other woods easily obtained that are much 
better. After use hickory seems to lose its 
cast, due to the fibre of the wood becoming 
crushed in the belly of the bow. You know 
that every time a bow is drawn to its capacity 
the fibre in the belly is crushed or pressed 



196 American Archery 

together while that in the back of the bow is 
pulled and stretched. Hickory will stand 
this pulling but fails when it comes to the 
crushing test. This characteristic of hickory 
is taken advantage of by bow makers when 
they make what is called a backed bow or 
one made of two pieces of different woods. 
They select for the belly a wood that will 
stand crushing, as for instance red cedar, the 
sweet smelling kind that is used for making 
pencils, and hickory for the back, and produce 
a bow that is as good as the best. But then 
we have not come to that yet. We will tell 
you about backed and grafted bows later on. 
If you have access to growing timber you 
can select your own bow material, and thus, 
have the advantage of the city dweller who 
will have to get his at the lumber yard or 
wagon shop and be compelled to put up with 
old and brash wood which in all probability 
will be kiln dried and consequently ruined. 
Select a sapling or young tree of from three 
to five inches in diameter, the trunk of which 
is straight and free from knots or limbs. In 
making your selection you can take either 
mulberry, black locust, sassafras, apple, black 
walnut, osage orange, elm, ash, hemlock, 



Bows and How to Make Them 197 

dogwood, and if you find nothing better, 
hickory. Among these woods mulberry and 
black locust are considered the best, but you 
are not justified in refusing to use any kind 
of wood you can get that has a long straight 
grain and that is not notoriously brittle. 
Experiment, and you might find a better bow 
wood than has been heretofore discovered. 
When you have selected your sapling cut a 
piece from the trunk not less than six feet 
long. The length of your bow will depend 
upon your size and strength. Your bow 
should be as long as you are tall, but at least 
six feet long. For a youth fourteen or fifteen 
years of age the bow should be five feet and 
three inches or better still five feet and a 
half. A short bow is liable to break, and while 
it has a "snappy" cast, it is not pleasant to 
use. A safe rule is to make your bow of such 
length that you can easily brace, or string, 
it by the method to be hereafter explained. 
After securing your tree trunk you must re- 
move the bark and then saw the piece length- 
wise through the middle. This will give you 
material for two bows, and if you have 
selected a sapling large enough you can saw 
each half through the middle and will then 



198 American Archery 

have four quarters for the same purpose. 
You will find that there Is a marked difference 
between the heart and sap of the wood, both 
in looks and quality and we will take advan- 
tage of this fact later on. Of course the wood 
we have is green and unseasoned and before 
we use it we will have to season it. This is 
done by finding a running stream of water, 
if we can, and by weighting our sticks we 
keep them in the water for from two to six 
weeks, depending upon their size and the 
nature of the wood. A wood with a close 
compact grain will require more time than 
one with an open porous grain. The theory 
in this method of seasoning, and it is proven 
in practice, is that the sap in the wood is 
supplanted by the water, and when the 
water is subsequently driven out the grain of 
the wood is left tough and elastic, rather than 
dry and brittle, as would be the case if the 
wood was allowed to season in the air. This 
is shown by the fact that kiln-dried timber is 
almost invariably brash and liable to fracture 
upon the slightest strain. Of course if you 
cannot find a stream to immerse your sticks 
in you will have to put them in a trough, tank 
or cistern. Running water simply accelerates 



Bozus and How to Make Them 199 

the elimination of the sap. Of course if you 
live in the city and have to buy your bow 
material you will get it already seasoned, 
but be sure you do not get kiln-dried if you 
can possibly help it. Osage orange makes a 
good bow but it is very liable to weather 
check, and when seasoned is hard to work. 
Cedar is also good, but it is very hard to 
secure pieces of sufficient length, free from 
knots. I have made a most excellent bow 
from a piece of sassafras secured from a two 
inch board sixteen inches wide. A sapling of 
this wood should make a desirable bow. 

While our material is seasoning we will 
discuss the size of our bow. The strength, 
and consequently the casting power of a bow 
is determined by the number of pounds it is 
necessary to pull upon the string in order to 
pull it back the full length of the arrow and 
called weight. This statement, as far as the 
casting power of a bow is concerned is only 
partially true as some bow woods are much 
quicker than others, and with two bows of 
equal weight, i. e., pull, but made of different 
woods one is liable to have a farther cast. 
It is this characteristic that makes yew so 
valuable, not this alone, however, as snake- 



200 American Archery 

wood has a quicker cast, but is rejected by 
veteran archers on account of being heavy, 
and its HabiHty to jar and fragihty. A bow 
for a man should range in weight from 35 to 
70 pounds, depending upon the individual 
and whether the bow is for target shooting or 
hunting. The main thing to be guarded 
against is to not get a bow that is too strong 
for the shooter. To shoot with a bow beyond 
your strength results in poor scores, sore 
fingers and ultimate disgust and condemna- 
tion of a pastime, the beauties of which you 
have denied yourself in attempting to impress 
upon your fellows that you were possessed of 
superior physical prowess. The best archers 
use a bow many pounds lighter than they are 
capable of using. Archery is not a test of 
strength, but of skill and the intelligent use of 
such powers as we possess. Of course as the 
archer masters his bow he will increase in 
strength and should in just that proportion 
increase the weight of his weapon. 

The weight of a bow is determined by its 
length, the amount of material left in it and 
the quality of the wood. The hard dense 
woods such as ash, hickory and osage orange 
will require less bulk than the softer woods 



Bozus and How to Make Them 201 

such as sassafras or cedar. In all probability 
your bow will range in size from 3^ inch to 
lyi inch square at the largest part. A lance 
wood bow I inch square will weigh 65 pounds 
while a sassafras bow of the same size would 
weigh about 25 pounds. The shorter a bow 
of given size the more it will weigh. We can- 
not determine in advance just how large the 
finished bow will be but will have to ascertain 
that by experiment and repeated trials, so a 
safe rule is to make your bow larger than you 
have reason to believe will be acceptable and 
then reduce it to correspond to your strength. 
After your stick has been taken from the 
water, wiped oif and dried in the shade for 
three or four days and then hung up over the 
kitchen stove for a week it will be ready to 
work upon. For your first trial select your 
poorest stick to practice upon. If it is a 
success in. the first instance you have in 
reserve a better stick more thoroughly sea- 
soned from which you can make a better and 
stronger bow as you increase in skill and 
strength. After determining the length you 
want your bow, measure your stick and cut a 
piece as long as you want the bow to be from 
nock to nock, that is if you intend to use horn 



202 American Archery 

tips, but if it is your intention to cut notches 
in the bow itself to carry the string then you 
must cut your stick four inches longer than 
you want the finished bow. The sap of the 
wood is tough and elastic, it must be used for 
the back while the more dense heartwood is 
used for the belly. Square up the edges of 
your piece with a drawing knife so that it 
may be firmly held in the vise with the sap 
uppermost, in doing so you can shave it down 
until it is lyi inches wide, but do all of this 
work on the edges, not on the sap or heart of 
the stick. Now comes the important part 
and the durability and life of your bow 
depends upon your careful attention to this 
feature of its manufacture. Now place your 
stick, which by this time has been reduced 
by the drawing knife and its two sides planed 
smooth with the jack-plane, in the vise with 
the sap uppermost. Study the grain of the 
wood. Does it run true, flat and even, or 
does it dip and thicken up in places, if it 
dips, does the same increased thickness show 
upon both sides of the stick .^ Now we must 
reduce this sap so that we will leave a layer 
from yi to Ke of an inch in thickness along 
the back of our bow, and in doing so we must 



Bows and How to Make Them 203 

follow the grain of the wood as nearly as 
possible. Of course any slight wave or depres- 
sion we can ignore, and make our back prac- 
tically level and flat, but if we encounter a 
pronounced bend or depression in the grain 
of the wood we must follow it. In other words 
a bow which has the grain of the wood "run- 
ning out" or cut across on the back will 
not last. The cheap lance and lemonwood 
bows are finished with the back perfectly 
smooth, while at a meeting of the National 
Archery Association will be found bows cost- 
ing as high as one hundred dollars and made 
of yew in which the back is far from straight, 
owing to the grain of the wood being followed 
in their making. However the sides of these 
are, and all bows should be, perfectly straight, 
so that when they are strung up and you 
look along the string and at the belly of the 
bow the string divides the bow equally. 

Now if you have followed the instructions 
above given you have a billet of wood lyi 
inches wide, with a layer of sap along its 
entire length of about yq inch in thickness 
and more or less rounding, depending upon 
the size of the sapling in the first instance. 
If this convexity is too pronounced the centre 



204 American Archery 

may be slightly reduced so as to make the 
back almost flat, that is, flat across the grain. 
Now measure your stick and find its centre 
and mark it. From this point make a mark i 
inch above and 3 inches below. This is for 
the handle. Mark these last two points by 
drawing lines squarely across the back of the 
stick, and, of course, four inches apart. With 
a chalk line pulled very taut mark the centre 
of the back from end to end. At both ends 
of the stick mark a point -f^ inches from 
either side of the chalk mark. Draw lines 
with a straight edge from these points to 
the ends of the cross lines which you have used 
to mark the handle. Now with the drawing- 
knife at first and plane afterwards reduce the 
sides of your stick to these marks, and have 
the sides at right angles to the plane of the 
back. 

Now turn your stick on its side and mark 
a point at either end ^ of an inch from the 
back, and i inch from the back at either end 
of the handle, connect these points with a 
line. Then reduce the heart of the stick in 
the same manner you reduced the sides. 
You now have a stick ^ inch square on 
the ends and the centre of which is i x 1 3^. 



Bows and How to Make Them 205 

The handle, so far untouched, should be 
rounded on the inside, care being taken from 
now on that the back remains untouched, and 
should be made as large as can be conven- 
iently held in the hand, and noticeably larger 
than the largest part of the finished limbs of 
the bow. When the bow is fully drawn it 
should not bend, even the slightest, in the 
handle, for this reason we are compelled to 
leave a lot of wood at this point. The 
measurements we have been working to we 
will find are for a bow probably stronger than 
we can pull, but we have taken this pre- 
caution in order to get our handle large 
enough, and having secured that necessary 
condition we will proceed to reduce the size 
of each limb by planing them on the belly 
and sides down to the required size. These 
measurements will vary somewhat depending 
upon the kind of wood we are using. The 
corners of the belly are rounded and planed 
off so that a section of the bow at any point 
if sawed through would look like a letter U 
which was almost if not quite as deep as it 
was wide; for instance if one of the limbs was 
I inch wide and J/i inch deep at the largest 
part it would be probably ^ inch wide and 



2o6 American Archery 

YE deep at the ends. It will be impossible 
to plane the belly to within 4 or 5 inches of 
the handle, as to do so would make it the 
same size of the limbs, when it should be at 
least a quarter of an inch deeper, so at this 
point it will be necessary to carefully taper 
the handle into each limb by the use of the 
drawing knife, spoke shave, rasp or scraper. 
The handle may be wider than the limbs, 
however, without harm. 

In reducing the belly of the bow we must 
be careful to follow the lines of the bow as 
determined by the back. The back is the 
base line from which we work, and if there is 
a kink or depression in it we must have a 
corresponding bulge or raised place in the 
belly. Another thing to bear in mind is that 
if we encounter a knot of small proportions, 
commonly called a pin knot, we must not 
condemn the stick and throw it away, as 
we may save it by doing what is called "rais- 
ing" the knot, that is, leave the knot and the 
surrounding wood higher than the limb on 
either side of the knot. Many excellent 
bows are thus constructed. They look rough 
at rest but in use bend with a graceful curve 
if properly made. 



Bows and How to Make Them 207 

The ends of the bow will be finished by 
filing with a small rat-tail file notches on 
either side for the string, care being taken to 
leave no sharp corners that are liable to cut, 
or placing horn tips thereon, as fancy dictates. 
If you want horn tips, and they are the most 
satisfactory, secure two inches from the tip 
of a cow's horn and drill a one-eighth inch 
hole in the larger end and one inch deep. 
Make a reamer of flat steel one inch long 
running to a point and as wide at the base 
as the tips of your bow. Sharpen the edges 
of this reamer with a file at an angle similar 
to the blade of a pair of scissors and having 
left a shank, on your reamer put it in a brace 
and ream out the hole in the horn to fit the 
ends of your bow which will be sharpened 
like a pencil to fit the tips. Sharpen a hard 
wood stick to fit in the tips and clamp the 
stick in the vise and with rasp, file and 
scraper fashion the tip to suit your fancy. 
File a notch in the tip to hold the string, 
making it round and smooth and at such an 
angle that the string will rest on the bottom 
of the notch when the bow is strung. The top 
of the notch should be cut away so that when 
the bow is fully drawn it will not interfere 



20 8 American Archery 

with the string. If the horn works too hard 
it may be softened by boiUng. Finish with 
emery paper. 

The horn tips may be securely fastened on 
the ends of the bow with glue. 

To brace or string the bow slip the eye of 
the string over the upper end and fasten the 
lower end with a timber hitch, so that the 
eye will be about two and one-half inches 
below the upper nock. The bow is strung by 
holding the lower limb with the inside of the 
foot, pulling upon the handle with one hand 
and depressing the upper limb with the other, 
at the same time slipping the eye of the string 
into the upper nock. Use either hand to 
grasp the bow at the handle as suits your 
convenience, and you will find that which- 
ever hand you select you will use the foot on 
that side of the body to hold the lower limb. 

Now examine the bow and see If it bends 
evenly throughout its entire length. Look 
along the back lengthwise and see If it bends 
even and flat or If It pulled out of shape by 
the string. If the latter is the case and the 
string does not cut the middle of the bow it 
will be necessary to cure this defect by scrap- 
ing that side of the belly which is opposite 



. Bows and How to Make Them 209 

the portion of the back which is bulged out; 
in other words, scrape the low side of the belly. 
Do this very gradually and carefully and 
closely watch the result of your efforts. If 
one limb bends more than the other the 
stronger limb must be reduced to correspond. 
Remember the handle must not bend in the 
least and each limb must bend with an even 
graceful curve from the handle to the tip. 
After getting the bow to bend to suit you it 
must be weighed. To do this adjust your 
string so that when the bow is braced it will 
stand from 6 to 6^' inches from the inside of 
the handle, and with a spring balance draw 
the string, at its centre so that it will be 27 
inches from the inside of the handle. If the 
spring balance shows that the bow weighs 
the required amount, well and good, if it is 
stronger than you want then the bow ^ust be 
lowered or weakened by scraping it evenly 
throughout its entire length, taking off but 
little at a time and frequently testing to see 
that we do not go too far, and being careful 
that we scrape one side as much as the other 
in order to preserve the balance. Another way 
to test the bow is to weigh out in a sack as 
much sand or soil as necessary to give you 



210 American Archery 

the desired weight, and tie it up and affix a 
hook thereon. Drive two very stout nails 
at a convenient height above the floor and 
4 inches apart; mark a point on the wall 27 
inches below these nails; hang your bow on 
these nails by the handle and hook the bag 
of sand in the centre of the string. When the 
bag of sand will pull the string down to the 
mark you have a bow of the required weight. 
Of course. in making this test or the one with 
the spring balance you must not allow the bow 
to be under strain any length of time; hang 
on your weight, ease it down to the point 
where the bow will hold it, note the distance 
and immediately remove the weight. 

To finish the bow it must be rubbed per- 
fectly smooth with sand paper or steel wool, 
and the pores of the wood filled with a filler 
if necessary. Three coats of rubbing varnish 
or Chinamel, well rubbed between each coat 
should give a nice finish. If the handle is 
large enough, and of such shape as to feel 
pleasant to the hand nothing additional will 
be required beyond the trimming, however if 
it is small and hard to grasp it must be in- 
creased in size and improved in shape by 
glueing upon the back a piece of pine as 



Bows and How to Make Them 211 

long as the handle and nicely rounded. The 
trimming will be a piece of green or red plush 
glued around the handle, or any other material 
that suits your taste. In locating the handle 
you must remember that it is not in the exact 
centre of the bow but between the marks we 
put on the back as guides, which results in the 
upper limb being longer than the lower. This 
disparity in length causes the upper limb to 
bend more than the lower, so that if the bow 
when braced shows a very slightly increased 
bend in the upper limb it is not objectionable. 
Barnes, the famous American yew bowyer 
trims his handles with strips of split leather 
wound around the handle. A good covering 
would be a piece of calf skin, cut to fit, and 
sewed along the back with the base-ball stitch. 

Soft wood bows should have a piece of ivory, 
mother of pearl or any other hard substance 
let into the left side of the upper limb just 
above the handle, to allow the arrows to 
glide over without wearing the bow at that 
point. This is called the arrow plate. 

The bow which is now finished and ready 
for use is what is called a self bow, that is 
one made without a back. There is another 
kind of bow which is a self bow but is made 



212 American Archery 

of two pieces joined In the handle, and It Is 
known as a grafted bow. As It Is hard to get 
a piece of yew of sufficient length, and suffi- 
ciently clear of knots and pins to make a 
perfect bow, the grafted variety Is very com- 
mon In bows of that wood, and they are 
entirely satisfactory, that Is if well made. 
Expert bowyers claim that there is a difference 
in the quality of the wood in either end of a 
six foot stick, and for that reason indorse the 
grafted bow for the reason that wood of the 
same quality and from a half length of the 
same stick may be placed in either limb 
of the bow, with uniform results. If you are 
unable to get a clear stick of sufficient length 
to make a bow you should have no difficulty 
in getting a stick of half that length, and large 
enough to get two limbs from it. Prepare your 
sticks by reducing the sap as you did for the 
bow just described, and select the butt end 
of the stick for the joint. To make the joint 
you must make the ends of your limbs per- 
fectly square for a distance of four Inches. 
This may result In cutting across the grain 
in the handle, but as the bow will not bend 
there and will be protected by a whipping it 
will be of no consequence. In squaring the 



Bows and How to Make Them 213 

ends you must remember that in the finished 
handle there must be left sufficient wood to 
give it rigidity. On the back of one of the 
limbs mark it in the shape of a W which is 
upside-down, as wide as the stick and at 
least three and one-half inches long; carefully 
mark the belly to correspond. Clamp the 
stick securely in the vise and with a fine saw 
cut out the V shaped piece in the middle and 
with drawing-knife and plane cut off the long 
triangular pieces on either side down to the 
outside mark. If you do not get this sawed 
out accurately it will be necessary to dress it 
up with a knife-edge file, using the utmost 
care to keep the surfaces flat and true. Saw 
two deep notches in the other limb, first mark- 
ing them out, so that when finished the one 
limb will fit into the other and the sides of 
the two limbs be parallel. The two things to 
be watched in making this joint are to see 
that it is a perfect fit on both the back and 
belly, and that when the stick is joined it 
will be straight. This joint is called a double 
fish joint and is very strong. Now with the 
best glue that you can procure, the same 
having been put to soak in cold water over 
night, and then boiled in a glue pot, or water 



214 American Archery 

bath, and used while boiling hot, thoroughly 
coat the proposed joint getting the glue into 
every portion of the joint and fit the pieces 
together, driving them smartly home with a 
mallet, and clamp the joint very firmly in the 
vise until dry. In a day or two the glue will 
be sufficiently hard to allow you to work on 
the stick and reduce it to about the proper 
size and shape for the proposed bow. Now 
you will have to put a whipping of very stout 
cord or tape around the joint, starting well 
outside of the ends of the joint, winding 
close, smooth and as tight as your whipping 
will allow. This whipping should be laid on 
in glue, and after completed if it will not make 
too much bulk in the handle you should put 
on a double or triple whipping. There is a 
very severe strain on this joint and you 
cannot make it with too much care nor too 
strong. The more whipping you put on and 
the tighter you draw it the better will be 
your joint. Let the glue in this whipping 
dry at least a week before you attempt to 
brace the bow, which, of course, you have 
not attempted before the whipping was on. 
This bow will be finished the same as the 
former one excepting that the whipping will 



Bows and How to Make Them 215 

receive repeated coats of varnish to make it 
absolutely water-proof. 

The backed bow is a most excellent weapon 
and one in which hickory demonstrates its 
peculiar merit, as most all backed bows are 
made with such backs. To make one secure 
a piece of well seasoned second growth white 
hickory of the width and length you want 
your bow and when planed and smoothed 
up of three-sixteenth inch in thickness. Ex- 
cellent backs may be secured by procuring 
from a carriage maker or hardwood dealer 
a buggy reach or coupling. These are six 
feet long and i}i inch square. By looking 
over a large stock you can most likely find 
several in which the grain is straight and even 
and does not run out, which when taken to 
the planing mill and ripped on a circular 
saw will afford material for three or four 
backs; use sharp saw. Carefully dress the 
back you select with a sharp fore-plane. The 
belly will be made substantially as wide as 
the back, at least in the centre, and of suffi- 
cient depth to leave plenty of wood in the 
handle. The back of the belly must be planed 
smooth, true and straight, and upon this 
planed surface the back must be glued. The 



2i6 American Archery 

surfaces to be glued should be combed with a 
fine toothed saw. The glueing process is the 
difficult part of the job. The glue must be 
of the best, in perfect solution and boiling 
hot. As soon as it is applied to every portion 
of both surfaces, immense pressure must be 
exerted upon the two sticks to force out all 
surplus glue. You can exert this pressure by 
m.eans of wedges or cabinet makers clamps. 
If you use the former method nail two inch 
planks parallel to each other and about three 
inches apart on your bench and provide a 
series of short double wedges for the entire 
length of the bow and so arranged that the 
small square end of one is snug against the 
large end of the next one and so on. By driv- 
ing the end wedge all are thus moved and a 
uniform pressure is exerted from end to end. 
If you use clamps use as many as you can 
put on, and clamp the bow, back down, to a 
two inch board. This board keeps the back 
straight while being glued on. Do not take 
the bow out of the clamps for a week. Dress 
down and finish as for a self bow. 

It requires nice adjustment to make your 
wedges so that by driving the end wedge all 
will be equally tightened and you can get 



Bows and How to Make Them 217 

almost as good results by leaving a space of 
three-quarters of an inch between each set, 
and driving each wedge individually. They 
may be driven by a notched hard wood stick. 
Drive them all they will stand. To make a 
good glue joint immense pressure is necessary 
and you must remember this is making a 
grafted as well as a backed bow. In making 
the joint in the grafted bow if the jaws of 
your vise are not exactly as wide as the joint 
you should cut hard wood blocks just the 
length of the joint and place them on either 
side of the joint and clamp the whole in the 
vise. If the blocks are longer than the joint 
the solid wood will take the pressure that is 
intended for the joint. Another thing, while 
the back and belly are to be planed perfectly 
true and flat where they are to be glued, they 
should not be left smooth but the surfaces 
should be scored by scratching them length- 
wise with a fine toothed saw, as explained. 
There are special planes made for this pur- 
pose. The roughened surface gives the glue 
a better opportunity to take hold. 

While hickory, next to yew, is the best 
for backs there are several woods that are 
excellent for belly s. Among them are red 



2i8 American Archery 

cedar, the heart wood of black locust, black 
walnut, mulberry, osage orange, and sassafras. 
While the directions herein given are gen- 
eral in their nature they are intended to cover 
the making of an ordinary sized bow for a 
man. Of course if the bow is wanted for a 
woman or a youth the length and size of the 
bow must be reduced accordingly, as well as 
the draw. The ordinary length of men's 
arrows are 28 inches and they require a bow 
of at least 6 feet in length. Among my bows 
I have one 3 inches over 6 feet, which weighs 
65 pounds and it has stood a lot of hard 
usage in the wild. While we have given the 
weight of bows for men as ranging from 35 
to 70 pounds the limits are not hard and 
fixed. For target use 45 pounds will be found 
to suit the average man. Many expert 
archers including Thompson, Taylor, Richard- 
son, et al., use a heavier bow, at the t^frgets, 
while other experts use lighter than the weight 
indicated. When hunting we require a much 
heavier bow, for the reason that the arrows are 
very much heavier than the fragile target 
arrow. They are weighed in ounces not 
shillings. Then the bow is more constantly 
used than at the targets, and there is no 



Bows and How to Make Them 219 

dwelling on the aim. The result is that we 
can without effort fully draw a bow that 
weighs 20 to 25 pounds more than the bow 
we are accustomed to use at the targets. 
If you have a good, well finished target bow 
do not run the risk of ruining it in hunting. 
You will scratch and mar it in the under- 
brush and the quick snappy draw you give 
when your game is sighted may result in its 
fracture. Make yourself a hunting bow of 
hard wood and follow the call of the wild. 
There is nothing like it. 




222 American Archery 

it is desirable to secure two limbs of as nearly 
the same growth as possible. Were the stave 
of one piece, one limb would be of different 
density than the other, owing to the difference 
in the age and development of the two parts. 
The belly of the bow is always the rounded 
portion nearest the shooter, during the act of 
drawing and the back is the opposite surface, 
a flat arc, always white in color. The color 
of the belly of a yew bow varies from a deep 
chocolate shade to a golden yellow, the color 
commonly seen being a light yellowish red. 

Of all the woods used in the manufacture of 
the self bow, yew is the wood par excellence. 
It is light in the hand, sweet of cast, steady 
of aim and has great propulsive power. To 
obtain a perfect piece is such a difficult 
matter that one is scarcely ever seen. A 
perfect stave should possess a fine, close grain 
which should be even and straight, the line 
of demarcation between the white sap and 
red heart should be well defined, and not 
thickened by a blur of purplish discoloration 
which in some cases is evidence of decay. 
It should be free from knots, pins, curls, 
season checks, galls, wind checks and pitch 
pockets. Do not let the amateur bow-maker 



Yezv Bow Making 223 

be discouraged, however, by this detail of 
imperfections, because very good bows may 
be made from staves exhibiting many of 
these faults. It is just such difficulties in 
fact, that the bow maker must encounter, 
that makes the art of bow making so fascinat- 
ing, while the planning of a bow from an 
imperfect stave incites the ingenuity and 
skill of the maker to a point of greater en- 
deavor. Were a piece of wood without the 
imperfections enumerated easily obtainable, 
anyone without even an ordinary amount of 
skill and with few tools might turn out a very 
serviceable bow. Such not being the case, 
however, the various faults must be met with 
each in its turn and conquered in a way best 
adapted to each individual piece. The tools 
needed in bow making are as follows: A 
hatchet, cross-cut saw, rip saw, jack plane, 
finishing plane, large and small spokeshave, a 
Stanley scraper, a coarse and fine file, a glue 
pot suspended in a water bath, and a vise 
workbench. 

The log-sections are generally 3 feet 6 
inches long by 6 or 8 inches wide by 3 or 4 
inches in thickness. The bark is first re- 
moved and if the log is fairly straight in grain 



224 American Archery 

and has not many bumps or knots upon its 
outside or sap surface, it is cleft its entire 
length with a hatchet. Should the grain 
appear to twist or turn, which may be deter- 
mined by comparing its two extremities, it is 
safer to saw it in as nearly a straight line as 
possible. Before either of these operations is 
attempted, the line of cleavage should first 
be determined with due regard for the irregu- 
larities upon its sap surface, so that the limb 
should be as flat and straight upon its back 
as possible and finish at the extremities with 
the lines of separation between the sap and 
heart parallel to each other. It will require, 
as a rule, careful observation to obtain this 
result, but the effort is well repaid as the subse- 
quent steps of the process are much simplified. 

Perhaps of all the woods from which bows 
are made the yew is the most uncertain in 
quality. A beautiful log may turn out the 
most disappointing staves, so the beginner 
must not be discouraged by such results, if 
he ever expects to succeed, as these logs are 
almost certain to be met with; most likely 
upon the first occasion. 

The limb now having been produced, we 
proceed to shape it. The sides are first 



Yezu Bow Making 225 

straightened with a jack plane until the block 
is i^ inches in thickness. It is then set in 
the vise and the back formed. This is a very 
important step in bow making and great care 
must be exercised to obtain the necessary 
result. Taking the actual plane of the tree, 
which in the log is of course slightly rounded, 
as the plane of the back to be established, the 
spokeshave is drawn carefully backward and 
forward until the sap has been reduced 
throughout its entire length to % inch in 
thickness. This will produce a barely per- 
ceptible curve which is to be retained until 
the finish of the bow. The curve of the limb 
must be followed, the tool dipping with the 
depressions in the heart, preserving the same 
proportion of sap to heart the whole length, 
i. e., }4 inch in thickness. 

Often it will be found that the sap dips 
more deeply into the heart upon one side of 
the limb than the other. In this case the 
side upon which the sap is thinnest must 
be selected and the peculiarities of the wood 
followed upon this side. In such a case 
should the sap upon the opposite side dip 
ver}^ deeply into the heart, the }i inch may 
be sacrified somewhat for the sake of flattening 



226 American Archery 

the general plane of the back, otherwise our 
relation of sap to heart would be considerably 
out of proportion. Except in the white 
portion, yew is a very soft wood, in spite of 
what some text books would lead us to believe. 
It is compact, but of about the cutting con- 
sistency of white pine. We must therefore 
use great caution with our spokeshave, work- 
ing carefully in both directions, following the 
leaves or feathers of the grain, as they run 
first in one direction and then in the other. 
A too vigorous stroke will sometimes raise a 
sliver of wood that will penetrate so deeply 
that our stave may be ruined. 

Having shaped the two limbs about lyi 
inches in thickness and established our back 
a flat arc X i^^ch in thickness, at a perfect 
right angle to our roughly planed sides, we 
now proceed to cut the splice. This is accom- 
plished as follows: A piece of drawing paper 
is obtained, being somewhat thicker than 
ordinary writing paper and two parallel 
lines are drawn upon it. Our splice is to be 
a fish tail 3^ inches in length by \yi inches 
in width. This is marked out upon the 
paper. 



Yezv Bow Making 227 




The lines are divided with a knife and 
separated, and the two sections thus formed 
pasted one upon each Hmb at its extremity. 
We have first decided which extremity this 
is to be, selecting the end of the limb contain- 
ing the greater number of imperfections in 
the wood, since this portion of the finished 
bow is to be the thicker, and consequently 
less apt to fracture. The paper having been 
pasted upon the wood, sighting along the 
back to determine whether it is parallel to 
the sides, the limb is placed upright in a vise 
and we proceed to cut the splice. This step 
requires considerable skill as much depends 
upon its successful result. Taking the sharp 
rip saw we cut through the lines in the paper 
pattern, being careful to saw always in the 
same plane from top to bottom. 



228 American Archery 

The splice cut, it must next be glued. For 
this purpose ordinary joiner's glue is selected, 
not cold prepared liquid glue. The glue is 
melted in the water bath until it is of the 
consistency of sugar syrup. If it is too thick 
the vise will squeeze the segments apart, 
while if it is too thin, the wood will absorb 
too much of it, so it is important to have it 
just right. It is better to set back, or reflex, 
the limbs somewhat from a straight line, 
about }4 inch being a safe angle, so before the 
glue is applied, the two limbs are fitted 
together and this angle marked with lead 
pencil as a straight line along both sides, 
well beyond each extremity of the splice. 
When the limbs are glued and joined after 
this we simply preserve the continuation of 
these straight lines and our splice is then at 
an exact angle we have determined that it 
should be. The splice is now covered upon 
all its surfaces with two or three coats of 
glue and placed in the vise, the sides of the 
limb protected, if the vise is of metal, by 
interposing a piece of soft wood between the 
jaws and the wood. It is squeezed tightly, 
not enough to crush the wood and allowed 
to remain for two days. 



Yew Bozu Making 229 

We now have a stave something more than 
6 feet in length and it is time to proportion 
our bow. The stave is placed in the vise for 
the sake of convenience, the irregularity over 
the surface of the splice caused by setting 
back the limbs is shaved away, and the 
measurements are proceeded with as follows. 
Taking the 3^ inch splice as our basis of 
measurement, it is divided into half, marking 
a line in lead pencil, i^ inches from each of 
its extremities. The middle of the bow is to 
be one inch above the center of the splice, 
which point is also marked off in lead pencil. 
The rest of the operation is very simple. 
Lay a rule upon the back of the stave and 
measure off 3 feet from the hne which has 
been placed i inch above the middle of the 
splice, i. e., that which is to be the middle 
of the bow, a mark is made upon each ex- 
tremity of the stave, and the excess wood cut 
off. If a measurement is then made from 
each end of the splice to each end of the 
stave, it will be found that one limb is 2 
inches longer than its fellow, which are proper 
proportions for a 6 foot bow. 

(See diagram.) 



230 American Archery 

The outline of the back of a yew bow differs 
from those of the denser woods, such as 
lemon and lance, in that instead of inclining 
in a sharp straight line from the handle to 
the extremity, the back is made broader, 
inclining very gradually from the handle 
until within about one foot of the extremity 
it inclines more rapidly, ending in a sharp 
point for the reception of the horn. It is 
very important to obtain this correct out- 
line because were we to adopt the pattern 
of the denser wood bows, our yew would be 
entirely too whippy at the ends, requiring 
too much wood in the belly and favoring the 
formation of chrysals, which in time would 
surely end in the destruction of the weapon. 
It is in fact its peculiar shape combined with 
the different character of the wood which 
makes the yew so soft of cast and conse- 
quently easy on the shooter. 

We now plane down the sides of our stave, 
much care being exercised at this time to 
avoid raising splinters, until it is perfectly 
straight and is from lyi to i^ inch in 
thickness, depending upon what the power 
of our bow is to be. About i^ is assumed 
to be a good general average for a bow varying 



Yezv Bow Making 231 

in weight from 40 to 45 pounds. A pattern 
is now made of paste board, first outlined in 
lead pencil and then cut with a sharp knife 
of the exact proportions of what our back is 
to be. This is laid flat upon the back and 
with a pencil a line is drawn upon each side 
of the pattern marking the outline upon the 
wood which is to be followed with the plane. 
The next step is to form the belly of the bow. 
Taking the middle and not the ends of the 
handle, as is the usual custom, we measure 
off for a bow which is i^ inches in thickness 
at the handle ij^ inches from the surface 
of the sap into the heart of the wood. We 
measure off ^ inch from the sap surface 
into the heart at each extremity, and then 
draw an irregular line, assuming that the 
stave is irregular in form from one point to 
the other. If much wood remains beyond 
this line, for the sake of saving ourselves 
considerable labor it may be sawed off with 
the rip saw, keeping beyond the line some- 
what to avoid error. From now on the spoke- 
shave comes into use, first rounding the sides, 
gradually approaching the summit of the 
belly until a perfectly rounded form is 
obtained. This is the most difficult step in 



232 American Archery 

the whole process of the undertaking, as the 
grain of the wood varies so constantly that 
we must always be on the alert to follow its 
peculiarities. We may now take our Stanley 
scraper, it being no longer safe to continue 
the use of the spokeshave, and complete the 
form of the belly. Every curve in the back 
of the bow must be carefully followed. In 
shaping the belly, gradually tapering toward 
the end, pins must be raised; by this Is meant 
leaving a little more wood over the surface 
of the small black points that appear In the 
wood. Any other imiperfections must be 
provided for In the same way. As has already 
been stated, In choosing which end of the 
limb Is to form the handle, we have paid due 
regard to the Imperfections of the wood. 
Keeping In mind that the principal bend in 
the bow is between a point 17 Inches from the 
handle to within 8 or 9 inches of the end, we 
adjust the limbs accordingly. To secure the 
splice a strip of soft wood somewhat wider 
than the back of the bow and 3^ Inches in 
length Is glued over the joint, pressed in the 
vise, allowed two days to dry, and finally 
rounded In shape with the plane and file 
until It takes the general symmetry of the 



Cfosa ^ccf/on . 






Yezv Bow Making 233 

handle. It should have the same lines as 
upon the belly side, more wood being allowed 
to remain at the corresponding center than 
at either extremity, which end In a gradually 
sloping angle. (See illustration.) This must 
be further secured by wrapping it with a thin 
layer of raw flax saturated with joiner's glue 
and smoothed to an even surface. After this 
Is dried hard and further shaped with a file, a 
coat of shellac is applied to render the joint 
moisture- and sweat-proof. 

This method of centering the bow was sug- 
gested by Dr. S. T. Pope, of San Francisco, 
Cal., an expert amateur bow maker, and so 
far as the writer knows, the method originated 
with him. It seems the most effective scheme 
yet devised by any bow maker and having 
once handled a bow of such proportions, it 
will be found that it balances perfectly upon 
that portion of the hand Into which it most 
comfortably rests, giving a steadier aim and 
allowing less chance for error in every detail. 

The horns are next put on. Their openings 
should be ^ inch in diameter, or not less than 
1^ inch. They are carefully fitted to the 
end, filing away the wood until this Is accom- 
plished; cold (liquid) glue may be used to 



234 American Archery 

secure them in place. After they have dried, 
the bow is ready for tillering. The tiller is a 
staff of wood about 3 feet in length with a 
depression cut at its top to receive the middle 
of the bow, and notches cut down its face 
at intervals of several inches to a final depth 
of 26 inches. The tiller is placed upright in 
a vise and the bow braced. Before proceeding 
any further we turn the braced bow back 
up and then down, sighting first along one 
surface and then the other. This is to deter- 
mine whether the back is perfectly flat and 
the string cuts the bow exactly into halves 
from notch to notch. Should the bow be 
cast to one or the other side, we may be 
assured that it is ill proportioned and that 
there remains too much wood upon the side 
toward which the deflection is formed. This 
is removed by means of the file or scraper. 
Now holding the bow at a transverse angle 
and satisfying ourselves that the curve of 
the limbs is about equal, the handle is placed 
upon the tiller and the string drawn to the 
first notch; in effect a great cross bow. As 
each successive notch is reached, gradually 
approaching the full draw, we step away from 
the tiller and observe the curve of the par- 



Yew Bow Making 235 

tially drawn bow. This observation must be 
made quickly, removing the bow each time, 
stringing and fiHng and scraping until a 
perfect arc is produced, and the exact weight 
which the bow is to remain has been decided. 
We now finish the bow with sand paper, 
steel wool and powdered pumice until all 
file marks have been removed and the bow 
has reached a fine smooth surface. After 
this it is rubbed to a polish with boiled 
linseed oil and the final dressing applied. 
This may be either shellac after the method 
of French polish or colorless varnish may be 
used in order not to darken the beautiful 
shades of the wood. The French polish is 
applied as follows: Dissolve white shellac in 
95% grain alcohol, making a solution the 
consistency of syrup. Prepare a pad of 
cotton enclosed within a bit of gauze or cheese 
cloth. Dip it first in a dish of shellac and 
then in a dish of linseed oil; rub the surface 
of the wood vigorously. Repeat until a 
high, smooth gloss is produced. By this 
method only one coat may be applied and 
subsequent attempts to add to this will only 
mar the original coat. The first coat is 
rendered durable and sufficient by repeatedly 



236 American Archery 

rubbing the bow, several times during the 
season, with beeswax held in turpentine, or 
ordinary floor wax. If varnish be used, as 
many coats as desired may be applied and 
this latter method is chosen in the case of 
backed bows, where it is necessary to coat 
the surface more heavily against the effects of 
moisture. 

The handle may be covered with leather, 
rubber or bound with braid to meet the fancy 
of the workman, but best of all is a handle of 
cork. To produce this, cut strips of thin 
cork about ^4 inch in width and winding 
them around the handle in water proof 
cement. The excess at each end is pared 
away, the cork smoothed with sand paper 
and the two ends secured by a binding of 
leather strips ^s inch in width, skived very 
thin. Should we care to further embellish 
our bow we may, before the finish has been 
applied, imbed a section of pearl or ivory 
just above the top of the handle upon the 
left side of the upper limb. This is the arrow 
plate for the protection of the wood against 
the abrasion of the arrow and, while it is not 
a necessity, it adds to the appearance of the 
finished bow. It may be shaped in accordance 



Yezv Bow Making 237 

with the taste of the worker and placed upon 
the spot where the arrow crosses, excavating 
the wood just enough to receive it when it is 
glued into position. 

Backed Bows 

In describing backed bows, only two kinds 
will be considered, yew-backed-yew and raw- 
hide-backed-yew. Backed bows were origin- 
ally designed to make use of selected portions 
of wood which were considered unfit for self 
bows. Perhaps a heart was serviceable and 
the sap useless and vice versa. Bow makers 
then would put aside these staves until such 
times as they had obtained two perfect sec- 
tions each of heart and sap and from these 
would make up their backed bows. In select- 
ing wood fit for the backed bow, we must 
first of all have a perfectly even grained 
section of sap. It may be slightly curved in 
either direction but it must be straight of 
grain and at least % inch in thickness with 
the side which is to be glued upon the heart 
perfectly smooth upon its surface. It must 
also be entirely free from knots, pins and 
other defects. This is carefully sawed from 
its defective heart with a rip saw. 



238 American Archery 

In the case of the heart, however, we are 
allowed more scope in our selection. The 
grain need not necessarily be perfectly 
straight, since it is to be covered upon its 
back by the perfect reinforcement of sap and 
so we may utilize almost any kind of heart 
providing it is free from the glaring defects 
already described. It seems hardly worth 
while, however, to make a yew backed yew 
unless we have a heart free of all defects with 
the exception of an irregular grain, which may 
be entirely disregarded because it is generally 
possible to obtain such a piece free of blem- 
ishes, possibly a strip which has been sawed 
from one or more of our self bows, and which 
has been preserved for just this purpose. The 
heart section should finish in the block i}4 
inches in width hy i/4> inches in thickness, 
perfectly flat upon all its surfaces and pre- 
ferably perfectly straight in form. We next 
make the two surfaces of sap and heart 
which are to be glued together exactly even, 
and this is not an easy matter but requires 
great care with the plane and file. The 
writer's method is to cut two blocks of some 
soft wood about 2 inches wide by i inch in 
thickness and as long as each limb. Now 



Yew Bow Making 239 

make transverse saw outs about i inch apart 
to a depth of ^ inches, using these blocks 
for the press which is to be placed upon the 
limb after the sections have been glued. All 
our parts are now arranged in order upon the 
work table and the heart section is laid belly 
side down at the edge of the table and quickly 
covered with a coat of glue previously melted 
in the water bath. The sap is likewise glued, 
placed upon the heart and next the 2 inch 
block of soft wood upon the sap. The more 
tightly the two sections of sap and heart are 
squeezed together, the more firmly will they 
adhere and to effect this result without all the 
tools the professional bow maker has at his 
command, the writer has found that the 
small iron screw clamps which may be pur- 
chased at any five and ten cent store will 
serve very well. Enough of these are secured 
so that they may be placed about three 
inches apart, using the under surface of the 
table and the block of soft wood as the two 
surfaces against which the clamps are screwed. 
These are placed quickly, screwed into posi- 
tion with the fingers, and finally tightened 
with pliers. At the end of three days they 
may be removed and at the end of a few more 



240 American Archery 

days we may proceed with the further steps. 
These are the same as described in the case of 
the self bow. 

Raw Hide Backed Yew 

The writer will attempt to describe the 
method of Dr. S. T. Pope, of San Francisco, 
Cal., with apologies to Dr. Pope for any 
errors that may appear in the text. Dr. 
Pope maintaining that the sap wood serves 
no part in the cast of the bow entirely dis- 
regards any irregularities which may appear 
upon its surfaces in the formation of his back 
and planes the surface to a common level, in 
some cases entirely removing the sap if it is 
necessary to produce this result. In every 
other respect the bow is built in the usual 
way. The bow having been shaped and the 
proportions obtained within a few steps of 
the finished bow, the points are filed at the 
extremities to receive the horns, a little more 
wood being removed from the back of the 
point to allow for the strip of rawhide, and 
the stave is ready for its rawhide back. This 
is obtained from the tanners. It is a calf 
skin used principally by makers of artificial 
limbs and is about re inch in thickness. 



Yezv Bow Making 241 

The hide is cut lengthwise into strips of i^ 
inches in width. These are soaked in warm 
water for about }4 hour and are quickly 
painted upon their inner surfaces with melted 
glue. The limbs are treated in the same 
manner, the strips, first one and then the 
other are bound on at the handle, quickly- 
stretched and bound at the tips. They are 
then smoothed and carefully bandaged their 
entire length with a gauze bandage. This 
dries over night and the overlapping edges are 
cut ofi^ with a pen knife and finished with a 
file. The horn tips are again fitted, glued, 
the handle piece of soft wood applied, bound, 
finished and shellacked and the bow is ready 
for tillering. This having been accomplished, 
it is sand papered, rubbed with steel wool and 
pumice powder, the rawhide sized with a thin 
layer of LePage's glue, rubbed with linseed 
oil and the bow finished in the manner 
previously described. While the writer can- 
not agree with Dr. Pope's contention that 
the sap plays no further part in the formation 
of the bow than a protection for the heart 
against fracture, he can enthusiastically com- 
mend the method to the bow maker, be he 
professional or amateur as one worthy of his 



242 American Archery 

best efforts. It is a far wiser and safer method 
for the beginner than either the self or yew- 
backed yew and as for its shooting quaHties, 
the writer has nothing more to say than that 
a beautiful fine grained dark mahogany yew 
bow made for him by Dr. Pope has stood 
the test of a season's shooting in the most 
delightful manner, finishing with no more 
loss of cast than one should expect to find 
in the finest bow, of any quality and without 
following the string to any excessive degree. 
It is always best to allow the bow to remain 
idle for a year before it is put into active use 
for the sake of seasoning it in the form in 
which it is finished. The English bow makers 
take about five years in the manufacture of 
a bow, allowing one year to elapse between 
each step. While the writer cannot see any 
good reason for permitting so much time to 
these various steps, assuming that we are 
working on a stave already seasoned in the log, 
the fact remains that a well seasoned stave will 
give better results in the finished bow than 
a younger piece of timber. The wood darkens 
with age and in the bow increases in cast, so 
certainly some time should elapse between 
the finishing of the bow and the time it is 



Yew Bow Making 243 

put into use. Yew bows will follow the string 
to a certain degree and lose about 3 pounds 
in weight, no more, if the wood is properly 
seasoned and well proportioned. If the limbs 
are unequal in strength, the bow will lose 
cast and follow the string from this unequal 
strain, and will finally break; so all these 
points must be borne well in mind. 

In conclusion let the writer say that he 
does not pretend to be a bow maker of any 
particular merit or even long experience. He 
does not claim that the methods mentioned 
are the best, but they are practical, and an 
attempt has been made to present them to the 
reader in a concise and comprehensible form, 
leaving nothing to be assumed. If he has 
succeeded in this, he will feel amply repaid 
for the effort. In this form they are offered 
to the reader with the hope that he will 
derive as much pleasure from their practice as 
the author. 

"Thus when our sports are over. 
In Autumn's final day, 
Each Bowman sure will say; 
Come, a parting cup, 
Ay and bumper it up 

To the next merry twang of the tough yew 
bow." (Dodd, 1818) 



244 American Archery 

CHAPTER XXII 

How TO Make a Bow-String 

By L. W . Maxson, 

Seven Times Champion Archer of the United 
States 

(Although the following article was printed in the Jrcher^s Regis- 
ter for 1903, Mr. Maxson, shortly before his death, kindly furnished 
a manuscript copy for this book.) 

TAKE best flax thread (Barbour's No. 12 
preferred), and form three strands of 
fifteen threads each. Wax these and cut 
out the threads at one end to form an even 
taper eight or ten inches long. Form double 
tapers of a little more than twice this length 
and wax these to the main strands so as to 
lengthen the loops when completed. Lay the 
strands together and, beginning where the 
loop is to be formed, roll or twist each of the 
strands away from the body and lay the outer- 
most over the others, drawing it firmly to- 
wards you. Continue this operation, always 
using the outer strand, till you have formed 
a cord long enough for the loop. Turn this 
back upon itself and wax down the tapered 



How to Made a Bow-String 245 

ends, each with one of the main strands of 
the string, arranging them so that they em- 
brace one of the other strains. With the 
ends of the loop in close contact, resume the 
laying operation, "twisting from and draw- 
ing towards," till the cord has been laid 
beyond the filling pieces. Comb out the 
strands with the fingers, draw tight, and cut 
off about eight inches longer than the desired 
length of the bow-string, taper the ends and 
add strengthening sections as before. 

At this point I generally catch the finished 
loop over the nock of the bow and drawing, 
the strands tight, begin to form the second 
loop about two inches short of the opposite 
nock. The second loop is formed exactly 
like the first, the three strands of the string 
being combed out as necessary, to prevent 
tangling. When the loops have been com- 
pleted, wax together all the strands, partly 
twist them, and stretch upon the bow. Rub 
down with a piece of paper and repeat the 
twisting and rubbing till the portion of the 
string between the said sections becomes 
round and hard, and the bow is strung to the 
right height. A coat of varnish and proper 
serving complete as good a string as any 



246 American Archery 

archer needs. If the archer prefers, a silken 
serving may be laid on from loop to loop. For 
a ladies' bow three strands of thirteen threads 
are used. 

A bow-string made as above seldom gives 
down, when once stretched, and may be 
adjusted in a moment by giving it a slight 
twist. 




T 



Notes on Arrow Making 247 

CHAPTER XXIII 

Notes on Arrow Making 
By Z. E. Jackson 
HE construction of a good arrow re- 



quires attention to so much minutia 
and detail that it seems almost a hopeless 
task to attempt to describe the many opera- 
tions in a single chapter. It will be under- 
stood in the beginning that this is not in- 
tended as a lexicon or an archery dictionary 
and if the weight of a bow is mentioned as 
being 50 pounds it does not mean that that 
bow, if laid upon the scales, would register 
50 pounds in weight. Likewise, if an arrow 
is referred to as 4-6, meaning 4 shillings 6 
pence, it does not refer to the cost of the arrow 
but to its weight. Where the superlative 
"best" appears it does not mean that the 
particular method or material referred to 
as being best is the best that the art or market 
has ever aiforded, but is the best within the 
experience of the writer. If the name of 
a dealer in materials is used it is for the 
purpose of giving to the lovers of archery 



248 American Archery 

the benefit of much research in the market, 
and not for the purpose of advertising any- 
particular firm. 

One of the difficulties met by amateurs in 
the manufacture of their archery tackle is the 
lack of information as to where materials 
may be secured. If reference be made to 
some particular method adopted by com- 
mercial arrow makers it Is for the purpose of 
comparison and not with the spirit of finding 
fault. I shall probably overlook many im- 
portant details but no suggestion here made 
can be profitably omitted. 

Of the numerous books on archery that I 
have read, — and my reading has covered 
practically the entire field — I have yet to find 
a single one that gave definite instructions 
that would be of benefit to the amateur. 
They all call attention to most of the require- 
ments and then fall to state how to secure the 
necessary result. They speak of cutting a 
feather as though no more skill were required 
than In clearing the back yard of weeds. 
Glue Is just glue without Information as to 
which kinds are best adapted. English deal 
is referred to as a particular kind of wood, 
but so far as I am able to learn from inquiry 



Notes on Arrow Making 249 

of the tradesmen, deal is an English expression 
denoting dimension lumber. I might fill a 
chapter with reference to the generalities 
used by writers in attempting to describe the 
making of an arrow but it would be to no 
good purpose. I shall endeavor to set down 
what information I have secured in a long- 
continued effort to learn the mysteries and 
secrets of the old arrow makers and which 
they have apparently guarded with jealous 
care. I do not wish to be understood as 
saying that the methods described are the 
only methods which will give good results; 
what I do assert is that if the instructions are 
followed the product will be an arrow of 
which no man need be ashamed in field or 
tournament. 

Inasmuch as there are many points of 
similarity between a target arrow and hunting 
arrow I shall first describe the method of 
making a target arrow and will then refer to 
such changes as are made necessary by the 
difference in use of the target and hunting 
arrow. I make no reference to the weights of 
either kind as that depends upon the in- 
dividual choice and strength of the bow 
used. 



250 American Archery 

The material used for the shaft of the target 
arrow Is invariably some species of pine with 
a hard material for a nock to prevent splitting, 
and a wood harder and heavier than pine for 
the footing. In a fourteen years' search I 
have never been able to secure a good piece 
of pine. I have tried hard pine, yellow pine, 
Western pine. Southern pine, spruce and 
Oregon fir. A clear piece of close, vertical 
grain hard pine flooring is fair material, but 
the best American wood is Oregon fir, care 
being taken to select staves in which the grain 
is very fine and does not run out of a ^ 
of an inch square stave in 28 inches. Needless 
to say, the material should be well seasoned 
but not kiln dried. Kiln dried lumber is as 
useless for archery tackle as driftwood. That 
end of the pine stave which will be footed 
is then planed down on two sides, a distance 
of 5^ inches from the forward end and 
brought to a feathered edge of a thickness 
equal to the saw slot in the footing hereafter 
mentioned. This work is best done by hand 
and instead of placing the stave on a bench 
and planing it, the plane is held in an in- 
verted position in the vise and the stave 
planed by drawing it over the plane. The 



Notes on Arrow Making 251 

pressure required bends the thin edge of the 
stave producing a result very much as in 
the hollow ground razor; that is, the edges of 
the wedge are not a straight line but a curve. 

The footing may be of any hard, heavy 
wood. Beefwood does not work well under 
the plane; the grain is gnarly like maple. 
Snakewood makes a beautiful footing but 
does not hold the glue without special treat- 
ment. Lancewood does not give the desired 
contrast in color; mahogany is too light in 
weight; ebony is too brash; the many differ- 
ent kinds of rosewood are too light; amaranth 
is best. It takes glue and still works perfectly 
under the plane or the rasp or in the lathe. 
It may be secured from any of the hardwood 
dealers in the large cities, Boston, particularly. 
It is usually sold by weight and costs from 40c 
to 75c a pound, according to the avarice of the 
dealer. The footing is cut 8 inches long and 
}4> inch square. It is slotted from one end 
a distance of ^^ inches. The making of 
the slot is more or less troublesome. It may 
be done with a hacksaw in which the blade is 
set at right angles with the frame. A backed 
saw will not reach the depth of the slot. A 
good hand tool for cutting the slot is made 



252 American Archery 

on the order of a Chinese saw, which has a 
rectangular shaped frame with the handle on 
one end and a hacksaw blade secured length- 
wise in the rectangle. This permits the 
material to pass up through the frame without 
obstruction. If you have power, a five inch 
Disston cabinet-maker's circular saw is the 
best. It has no set, being thicker at the 
periphery than at the center. It leaves the 
work free from kerf and almost as smooth as 
if planed. If a circular saw is used the very 
bottom of the slot must be squared with a 
few strokes of a thin hacksaw blade. 

The contact surfaces of the wedge and the 
slot are then covered with a good glue and 
the wedge forced into the slot, in doing which 
the footing is clamped in the vise up to the 
bottom end of the slot to avoid splitting. 
Before being removed from the vise clamps 
are applied and set firm. No fewer than three 
clamps for each footing should be used. 
More would be better. A very convenient 
and efficient clamp for this purpose may be 
made from bar steel bent into the shape of a 
U, provided with a yq inch stove bolt for 
a screw. The glue should be permitted to 
dry at least 24 hours. Any good quality of 



Notes on Arrow Making 253 

glue will do for this purpose so long as it is 
well dissolved and in good condition. While 
on the subject of glue, I wish to say that for 
gluing on the footings LePage's liquid glue is 
good. There are frequent delays and adjust- 
ments that often permit hot glue to become 
cold and to "cheese." The best glue I have 
found for this part of the work is a liquid 
fish glue made by the Imperial Glue Com- 
pany of San Francisco. With the exception 
of a special glue, which will be hereafter 
mentioned in connection with feathering, the 
Imperial glue is the best I have ever found 
for all 'round archery tackle work. 

After the clamps are removed from the 
footing the wings of the footing will extend 
beyond the sides of the shaft -5^ of an inch. 
These extensions should be planed off until 
the shaft again assumes its dimension of a 
straight stave ^ of an inch square. 

A grooved board, such as a piece of flooring, 
36 inches long, is held in the vise with the 
groove uppermost in which a wooden stop 
near one end has been provided. The stave 
is laid in the groove and the four corners 
planed until the stave is reduced to a true 
octagon. The corners of the octagon are 



254 American Archery 

then removed in the same way and so on 
until the stave has been reduced to a true 
round. It is then further reduced with vary- 
ing grades of sand paper, in doing which the 
arrow is given a decided spiral or rotary 
motion. 

A power driven tool on the order of a 
dowel cutter is best for turning the shaft, in 
case the maker chooses to use a machine 
process. 

It is best to make 1 8 or 24 arrows at a time. 
Some will turn out bad, some be ruined. The 
staves, although taken from the same stick, 
will vary in weight, often as much as 10 
grains, depending upon the thickness of the 
year marks. 

After reducing all shafts to practically the 
same size they are cut to the same length 
and the nock end of the shaft is provided with 
a V shaped slot for receiving the nock, which 
is placed there to prevent splitting by the 
string. The making of that slot is trouble- 
some. It may be done by holding the rounded 
shaft in the vise, having provided a split 
block in which a hole has been bored approx- 
imately the size of the shaft, and which is 
used as a clamp in the vise to avoid bruising 



Notes on Arrow Making 255 

the shaft. A fine tooth hacksaw may be 
used. By fine tooth hacksaw I mean one 
made for sawing tubing, In which the teeth 
are double set; that Is, two teeth are set to 
the right and then two to the left. The best 
one Is the Globe, on sale by all first-class 
hardware dealers. Later I will refer to a 
coarse hacksaw which has the single set, 
such as the well-known Star. It goes without 
saying that a hacksaw, to be of service In 
working wood, should never be used on metal. 

The slot for the nock may be sawed out 
carefully and finished with a knife-edge file. 
I have, however, long since abandoned that 
plan and Instead use a circular saw specially 
made by myself for that purpose. It Is ^}4 
inches In diameter, has regular saw teeth on 
the periphery, on a cross-section of one-half 
of which shows the V shape, the saw being 
^ of an Inch thick at the center and brought 
to a feather edge at the periphery. Long 
slots are cut In the saw on a tangent with a 
circle, the periphery of which Is ^ of an Inch 
outside of the mandril hole. These slots are 
four In number and are themselves provided 
with teeth, the clearance being secured by 
grinding away the metal back of the teeth. 



256 American Archery 

I realize that this is an imperfect description 
but I am endeavoring to describe the process 
without the aid of drawings and illustrations. 
The saw mentioned is driven at about 3,000 
R.P.M. and although crude in appearance 
and design does the work well and almost 
instantly, whereas the making of the slot by 
hand is tedious and unsatisfactory and is 
often the cause of ruining partially com- 
pleted shaft. 

Various materials, including hard wood, 
horn, shell, bone, ivory, and metal, are used 
for nocking the arrow but the ordinary red 
wood-fiber, such as is extensively used in 
electrical work, is the best. It takes the 
glue well and gives the desired contrast in 
color, besides being exceedingly tough. The 
notch for the string should, however, be made 
across the grain. I have never known a 
fibre nock to split except when struck by 
another arrow. The nock is first reduced to 
the shape of a wedge 1% inches long and 
approximately the size of the V shaped slot 
made to receive it and be readily worked into 
shape by sawing with a fine tooth backed saw. 
A coarse hacksaw is better. The best plan, 
however, is to secure a strip a foot long and 



Notes on Arrow Making 257 

^ of an Inch thick and 1% Inches wide, glue 
or screw the strip flatwise with brass screws 
on a strip of wood, which has been beveled 
on one edge at such an angle that when the 
wood Is flat on the saw table a vertical line 
will pass from the corner of one edge to the 
opposite corner on the other edge and divide 
the strip of fiber In two long wedge-shaped 
sections. With a fine- tooth, cross-cut, circu- 
lar saw, rip the strip of fiber from one end to 
the other. The brass screws will not Injure 
the saw. This will produce the long, wedge- 
shaped strips referred to and sections may be 
readily cut therefrom with a coarse hack or 
backed saw or on the circular saw, and which 
sections are approximately the shape of the 
nock to be placed In the V shaped slot. This 
method saves a vast amount of work and 
produces nocks of uniform size. The contact 
surfaces of the fiber and of the slot are then 
covered with glue, the fiber inserted In the 
slot and clamped as with the footing until 
the glue has thoroughly dried. 

The result of the foregoing operations is a 
round shaft approximately 11/32 of an inch 
In diameter and of a length best suited to the 
archer, which under no circumstances should 



258 American Archery 

be more than 28 inches unless the archer 
possesses arms of unusual length and uses a 
bow longer than six feet. I hold that a six 
foot bow of the type of the English long bow, 
drawn more than 28 inches is abused and will 
not last. The shaft as so far finished will 
produce an arrow of approximately 5 shillings 
in weight, which is too heavy for a bow under 
55 pounds. For weaker bows the shaft should 
be reduced in diameter. The rounded shaft 
is again placed in the grooved board and the 
nock end given a gradual taper with a very 
light cutting plane, or a wood rasp or mill- 
cut file, beginning 6 inches from the nock 
end and gradually tapering to a diameter of 
%2 of an inch at the extreme end of the nock. 
The nock end is then rounded with a fine 
mill-cut file, or what is best a coarse emery 
wheel. 

The notch for the string may be made in 
numerous ways, either with two cuts of a 
coarse hacksaw and then finished with a 
round-edged, flat file, or with a circular saw 
4 inches in diameter and equal in thickness to 
the finished notch and rounded on the peri- 
phery to conform to the notch to the bow 
string. Such a saw must be kept sharp and 



Notes on Arrow Making 259 

travel at a high rate of speed, 3,000 or more. 
Otherwise it will tear the fiber. In cutting 
the V shaped slot it should be cut with the 
grain of the shaft. This will permit the 
string notch to be cut at right angles with 
the grain of the shaft, thereby permitting 
the arrow to ride the bow on the edge of the 
grain rather than on the flake. This is 
essential for two reasons. The arrow is stiffer 
in that direction and withstands the slap 
on the bow better. The other reason is that 
the arrow will not wear away as it would if 
it rides the bow on the flake. The notches 
in all arrows should be ye o^ ^^ inch deep 
and uniform in width. They should so fit 
the bow string as to support the weight of the 
arrow when placed on the string and sus- 
pended therefrom, but the string should be 
made to fit the notch instead of attempting 
to make the notch fit the string. 

The pile or arrowhead is a thimble made of 
steel J/i of an inch long. They may be 
secured from E. I. Horsman & Company or 
of Mr. James Duff, manufacturer of archery 
tackle, or possibly from Abercrombie & Fitch 
of New York, who I understand have added 
archery tackle to their stock. I have never 



26o American Archery 

been able to secure a satisfactory pile. I 
make my own, using cylindrical sections of 
the required length cut from Shelby steel 
tubing. A pile which is a section of a true 
cylinder is not good; it opens a hole in the 
target the full size of the shaft and permits 
the arrow to pass entirely through the target, 
especially if the target be an old one. The 
pile should be K2 of an inch less in diameter 
at the front end than at the back. This 
result is secured by swedging, which may be 
done without heating the tube. The swedge 
is made by boring a hole of the required size 
in a block of steel or brass, then reaming it 
with a tapered reamer. The mandrel is 
hardened steel of the size and shape which 
suggests itself from requirements. Small 
conical shaped points are turned from steel 
(cold-rolled shafting works fine); a shoulder 
is turned on the end of the cap so that it 
sets into the shell K2 of an inch and should- 
ers up against the end of the shell. The cap 
and the shell are then soldered together. 
Brazing is better but unnecessary. In solder- 
ing, abandon the different acid solutions. 
Use any good soldering paste, that may be 
secured from electrical supply dealers. The 



Notes on Arrow Making 261 

caps and the shells must be carefully tinned 
before attempting to solder. 

The pile is fitted to the end of the shaft 
according to the tools and conveniences at 
hand. The best way is with the assistance 
of a hollow spindle lathe, but great care 
should be taken to see that the pile is perfectly 
"stopped;" that is, the end of the shaft 
should come in contact with the cap of the 
pile and the shoulder of the shaft should meet 
the end of the shell, when the pile is driven 
home. The pile can be retained in position 
by glue applied to the shaft, care being taken 
to not use too much, otherwise the pile cannot 
be driven to its proper place. If it becomes 
necessary to remove the pile apply a flame 
for a short period. The gas formed by the 
heated glue will cause the pile to detach itself. 

The shaft is again placed in the grooved 
board and the point of union between the 
footing and the pile is dressed with a mill-cut 
file, after which the point of the pile is dressed 
on the emery wheel. 

At this point I wish to suggest that a tool 
of great convenience and utility can be easily 
made in the form of a wooden device carrying 
a handle like a plane which will clamp flat 



262 American Archery 

files in such position as they may be used in 
the same manner as a plane. 

After all the shafts have been brought to 
the condition now referred to they are weighed 
upon a jeweler's balance scale until the 
lightest is discovered. That one should be 
then worked down to the desired weight and 
placed in the scales and all other shafts 
brought to equal weight. This process of 
reduction and weighing out is as tedious as 
it is important and may be performed with 
files, steel wool and varying grades of sand 
paper. The acme of finish may be secured by 
the use of glasspaper, which can be obtained 
from dealers in musical instruments and 
violin makers' supplies. The glasspaper leaves 
a finish that cannot be approached by the 
use of abrasive agents such as sand or emery 
paper, or steel wool. 

Immediately after being brought to weight 
and before they have had opportunity to 
accumulate moisture the shafts should be 
varnished from the pile to a point within 4^^ 
inches of the extreme nock end. The alcohol 
varnishes, such as shellac are tabooed and 
should be avoided. They are worse than use- 
less. Spar varnish, any of the varnishes used 



Notes on Arrow Making 263 

on bamboo fishing rods, or a good grade of 
rubbing varnish, which may be secured from 
any first-class carriage painter, may be used, 
but the best is what is known under the 
trade name of "chinamel" made by the Ohio 
Varnish Company. The first coat should be 
thinned with turpentine. The varnish used 
must fulfill many requirements. It must 
cling to a highly polished surface, must not 
crack under changing weather conditions, 
must respond to treatment with steel wool 
and other abrasives without gumming or 
balling, and at the same time must set with 
sufficient hardness to prevent becoming soft 
under the influence of frictional heat as the 
arrow passes into the target. 

After receiving the initial coat of thin 
varnish the shafts are kept in a dry place for 
24 hours when they again go through the 
weighing out process, in which they are again 
rubbed down with the finest grade of steel 
wool. No sand paper should be used; the 
dust will fill depressions and appear under 
the succeeding coats of varnish. That por- 
tion of the shaft which has not been varnished 
and which is called the "shaftment" is then 
sized with extremely thin glue and permitted 



264 American Archery 

to dry 6 hours. The application of the thin 
glue will raise the grain, which must be 
removed by a very light application of the 
fine steel wool. In applying the size, care 
should be taken to not cover any of the 
varnished portion of the shaft. If this occurs 
the succeeding coats of varnish will flake off. 
The purpose of the size will be very apparent 
when the operation of feathering the shaft 
is attempted. Without it the bare wood of 
the shaft will rob the feather of its glue and 
in addition to this the glue of the feather will 
not take hold of the bare wood instantly as 
it will if the size is used. 

The fledging or feathering of an arrow, 
requiring as it does the securing, selection, 
cutting and attaching of the feather, con- 
stitutes the most difficult part of arrow 
making, and as frequently remarked by my 
good friend Challiss, is not a matter of skill 
but is an art. 

Preeminent among feathers for a target 
arrow are those of the peacock, but they are 
almost impossible to secure. Next comes 
that of the domestic turkey. While the white 
turkey feather will not stand as much abuse 
as the gray, I prefer it because of its greater 



Notes on Arrow Making 265 

beauty and the fact that it can be dyed to 
any desired color. In attempting to dye 
feathers great care should be taken. If the 
solution is too hot it will ruin the feather. I 
might say that I ruin two of every three 
feathers I attempt to dye. Any commercial 
dy^ may be used. 

What are known on the market as primary 
feathers or "pointers" are selected, care being 
taken not to select the feathers from opposite 
wings of the bird. They should also be 
selected with reference to their size and 
texture and if the stock on hand will permit, 
the portion used for fledging should come 
from the same part of the feather; that is, 
the three vanes used on an arrow should be ' 
taken from three separate feathers but from 
the same location for the reason that a prim- 
ary feather is coarser and stiffer near its 
middle than at either end. Each wing on an 
arrow should be of precisely the same size, 
texture, weight and strength. A heavy vane 
and two light ones will have the same effect 
upon the flight of an arrow as would a large 
one and two small ones. 

Feathers become seasoned and exceedingly 
tough and difficult to work and at a certain 



266 American Archery 

stage of the preparation must be rendered 
tractable by the appKcation of moisture in 
some form referred to later. All tools used 
in preparing the feather must be sharp, and 
by this I do not mean approximately sharp. 
The knife that would not comfortably shave 
the user is not sharp enough for this purpose, 
and the tools must be given constant atten- 
tion that they may not become dull. The 
feathers for a target arrow should be cut and 
not stripped from the bone. Using stripped 
feathers is but a makeshift and indicates 
inattention to the details so essential to final 
success. After the feather is selected it 
should be ripped lengthwise through the 
groove in the nether side of the bone. If 
the vanes are to be of the ordinary balloon 
shape they should be 23^ inches long and 
% of an inch high at the highest point. 
After the feather has been ripped the wings 
may be cut from the broad side by a die made 
of sheet steel, the feather being placed on a 
maple block and the die struck with a light 
hammer, care being taken not to injure the 
bone. Three wings may be secured from one 
feather and after being stamped out there 
will be a space between each wing, as it 



Notes on Arrow Making 267 

adheres to the bone, of about }4 inch. The 
die mentioned may be made from an old 
handsaw blade or a cabinet maker's scraper, 
which can be bent into shape without the 
application of heat. It is then sharpened on 
the emery wheel to a chisel edge. 

The vanes as stamped are then separated 
by cutting the bone so as to leave ys of an 
inch extending beyond each end of the wing. 
It will now be noticed that while the wing 
is in its final shape there is far too much bone 
attached to it and this excess of bone for 
convenience is described as follows: That 
portion which lies in the same plane with the 
cane is "A;" that portion which lies in a 
plane at right angles to that of the vane is 
"B." The surplus at "B" is removed by 
being held in a clamp and cut with the blade 
of a safety razor. The clamp is in the form 
of an ordinary butt hinge having three leaves 
and is made preferably of aluminum to avoid 
dulling the knife. The two outside leaves are 
of strong metal, reinforced with wood to 
prevent bending or giving under the strain. 
The middle leaf is made of very thin alum- 
inum or brass about 36 gauge. The feather as 
stamped is placed in the clamp with the vane 



268 American Archery 

firmly held between the middle leaf and one 
of the outer leaves of the clamp. The safety 
razor blade is then inserted between the 
middle leaf and the other outside leaf of the 
clamp in such manner that the middle leaf 
lies between the blade and the vane of the 
feather. A single stroke of the blade suffices 
to remove the surplus bone at "B" and the 
vane of the feather is protected, by the inter- 
vening middle leaf, from damage during the 
operation. The result is that the surplus 
bone left at "B" will be equal to the thickness 
of the middle leaf in the hinged clamp. There 
is still far too much bone at "A," the removal 
of which gives no little trouble. The following 
plan is the result of many experiments both 
in method and with mechanical devices. 

As before stated, the feather becomes 
seasoned and tough and at this stage it is 
necessary to soften the bone by the applica- 
tion of moisture. In fact, that may be done 
before removing the surplus at "B" but it is 
not so essential. A shallow pan is so arranged 
over the gas flame that water placed therein 
will be slowly evaporated. The pan has a 
cover of galvanized wire screen. A piece of 
heavy cloth (an old bath towel is good) is 



Notes on Arrow Making 269 

wrung out of hot water and then laid on top 
of the screen in such manner that the vanes 
as stamped out may be arranged on top of 
the cloth and then covered with a fold of the 
same cloth. The heat and moisture from the 
cloth, to which is added the heat and vapor 
from the evaporating water, will in 10 or 15 
minutes render the feathers soft and pliable. 
As needed, they are removed from the steam 
bath, care being taken to keep those not in 
use covered with the extra fold of the cloth. 
One vane is removed from the steam bath and 
laid upon a smooth, soft pine board, cross- 
wise of the grain of the board. Lack of 
attention to this apparently small detail 
will absolutely baffle any attempt to cut the 
bone of the feather "A," which is the desid- 
eratum. The vane is held on the pine block 
with a straight edge 4 inches long, yi of an 
inch thick and i}^ inches wide, brought to 
a beveled edge in the form of an ordinary 
ruler. The sole purpose of the straight edge 
is for the purpose of holding the vane firmly 
in position while being cut. The knife does 
not touch the straight edge during the 
process of cutting. The straight edge is 
placed on the vane and the straight line of 



270 American Archery 

the bone left in removing the surplus at "B" 
is pressed firmly and accurately against the 
straight edge and the surplus bone at "A" 
is removed by a single stroke of the knife 
guided only by the eye. The best knife for 
this purpose is made from an old-fashioned 
razor blade ^ of an inch wide, the point of 
which has been left at right angles and not 
rounded and to which blade has been affixed 
securely and firmly a wooden handle according 
to the individual desire of the fletcher. In 
operation, the point of the blade passes 
through the bone and into the soft pine 
board and assists in guiding the knife. It will 
therefore be readily seen that if the cut were 
made with the grain of the pine board the 
knife would follow the grain of the wood and 
be deflected. It is possible to make this last 
and most important cut by several successive 
strokes of the knife but the result is never so 
satisfactory. It should be done at a single 
stroke. Should the result be other than a 
perfectly true line the following makeshift 
may be resorted to. Replace the vane in the 
hinge clamp, bring the surface of the bone at 
"A" to a true line by filing it with a file 
made by gluing a strip of sharp sand paper 



Notes on Arrow Making 271 

(00 grade) on a stick 8 or 9 inches long and 
yi of an inch square. I have heard of arrow 
makers who instead of cutting their feathers 
remove the surplus bone by holding the vane 
in a clamp and planing off the surplus with 
a tiny violin maker's plane. I have tried it 
without the slightest degree of success. After 
the final cut the vane is restored to the vapor 
bath where it remains until the balance of the 
vanes receive the finishing cut. 

There are numerous methods of gluing the 
vane to the shaft. One is by temporarily 
wrapping them on with thread. This is the 
poorest possible method and unworkmanlike. 
Another way is by placing the vane between 
the leaves of a clamp such as would be 
formed by an ordinary butt hinge and press- 
ing the glue-covered surface of the bone 
against the shaft. This requires too much 
manipulation, is uncertain in adhesive results 
and clumsy to a degree. I have a mechanical 
device made by myself which will feather any 
arrow perfectly but any mechanical device 
requires so many different manipulations that 
it appeals only to those who lack the skill 
required to do the work properly without 
mechanical aids. The best plan for the 



272 American Archery 

skilled workman Is to simply pick up the 
feather, apply glue to the contact surface 
of the bone, and stick it in position, but the 
knack only comes with long, patient practice 
and is fully as difficult as is the foregoing 
statement simple. For the benefit of advanced 
arrow makers, I beg to state, however, that 
it is the best way to feather arrows, and 
from every viewpoint it is the best. It 
requires no preparatory manipulation of the 
feather, the result is satisfying, and operation 
brief. I might say that in feathering my first 
arrows I resorted to the plan of wrapping 
them on with thread which held them in 
position while the glue dried. It required 2 
hours to feather a single arrow and the result 
was anything but satisfactory. Years after- 
ward on one occasion, by following the plan 
of simply "sticking them on," I feathered an 
even dozen arrows in thirteen minutes. 

For the purpose of this article and of those 
for whose benefit it is written, I assert the 
following method of attaching the feathers 
to the shaft to be the best. If instructions 
have been followed to date the bone of the 
wing will extend at right angles from the vane 
about Ko of an inch and the thickness of the 



Notes on Arrow Making 273 

bone at the point of contact with the shaft 
described as "A," will be about the same. 
The bone will extend beyond each end of 
the vane yi of an inch. A supply of bead- 
headed steel pins about i}i inches in length 
should be secured. One pin is passed through 
the extension of the bone at the nock end of 
the vane, the point of the pin barely passing 
through the bone. Another pin is passed 
1^ of an inch through the extension of bone 
on the opposite or pile end of the vane, but 
instead of being at right angles with the 
axis of the bone as is the first pin, it is placed 
at an angle of about 45 degrees, slanting 
toward the nock end of the vane. The glue 
is then applied in small quantities to the 
surface of the bone which will rest upon the 
shaft, in doing which a small sliver of wood 
serves the purpose better than a brush. The 
cock feather, being the one which is placed 
at right angles with the string notch, is the 
first to be applied and so placed that the 
distance between the extreme nock end of 
the shaft and the end of the vane is lyi 
inches. While held in that position pin 
number i is pressed home. This will neces- 
sitate pressing the pin into the fibre nock, 



274 American Archery 

but that may be readily done. Pin number 2, 
which has been hanging in the loose end of 
the bone, is than grasped, the feather drawn 
taut and the point of pin number 2, which 
protrudes through the bone re of an inch, 
is pressed slightly into the shaft, being careful 
still to retain the 45 degree angle. When the 
footing has been thus secured, pin number 2 is 
brought to a position at right angles with 
the axis of the shaft and pressed home. It 
will be noted that this operation secures a 
leverage which stretches the bone of the 
feather tight against the shaft and forces 
out any surplus glue. If the work is carefully 
performed there will be no surplus glue. The 
other two feathers are placed on the shaft 
in the same manner, being careful to accur- 
ately divide the total circumference of the 
shaft into three equal parts. This division 
may be made with the aid of instruments, 
laying off the different points of contact, 
but that is unnecessary labor. Practice will 
enable the workman to space those distances 
instantly by the eye and so accurately that 
they will not vary the distance of one of the 
holes made by the pin point. One hour is 
sufficient time to permit the drying of the 



Notes on Arrow Making 275 

glue, after which the pins are removed, the 
bone extension at the nock end is cut square, 
and the bone extension at the other end is 
trimmed to a feather edge with the feather 
knife. 

The very best glue used for attaching the 
feathers is made of equal parts of the best 
commercial glue and Russian isinglass. Do 
not confuse isinglass with mica. The isin- 
glass, after being cut with shears into small 
bits, is soaked for two days in sufficient water 
to cover it, together with the commercial 
glue, to which should be added brandy, 
quantity sufficient. It is then brought to a 
boil in an ordinary glue pot in a water bath. 
Brandy must be added from time to time as 
needed and small quantities of the glue 
cooked up as needed. Notwithstanding the 
use of brandy the glue ferments within a few 
days and gives off a very offensive odor. The 
Russian isinglass costs from 40c to 60c an 
ounce and may be secured from the large 
drug houses. It is, however, not expensive 
because of the great bulk in a given weight. 

The entire arrow is next varnished from 
nock to pile with thin varnish, being careful 
to lay the varnish well over the glue joint 



276 American Archery 

formed by the union of the feather and shaft 
but keep it from coming into contact with 
the vane of the feather. If it does, the 
varnish will creep up the vanes, make them 
stiff and mar the looks. After this coat of 
varnish has thoroughly dried it is again cut 
down with the fine steel wool; the uniform 
weight of the arrows being maintained. The 
shaftment, being the space between a point 
yI of an inch from the extreme nock end 
to a point 4^ inches from the extreme nock 
end is then painted any desired color, in doing 
which the paint is laid up, on and over the 
bone of the feather but not permitted to touch 
the vane. This is best done with a small 
round brush in which the bristles are about a 
half inch long, ending in a point. The crest 
is then painted on, using one wide band and 
several narrow ones or two or more wide ones, 
lined with a color diiferent from any used in 
the crest. The lining is best done in a lathe 
but can be accomplished by laying the arrow 
in a notch cut in the work bench and twirling 
it with one hand while applying the paint 
lines with the other. For lining, I find a 
very fine pointed brush the easiest to handle. 
The band nearest the nock end is about ye 



Notes on Arrow Making 277 

of an inch wide, leaving the final 3^ inch of 
the nock end bare of paint. The appearance 
is, however, fully preserved by the contrast 
between the wood of the shaft and the red 
fiber nock. 

After the paint has dried the entire arrow 
is again varnished with a coat of varnish 
that has not been thinned, and after that has 
dried the arrow is again rubbed down with 
the fine steel wool and polished with a dry 
woolen cloth. 

Hunting arrows are made of hickory % 
of an inch in diameter and 28 inches long. It 
is not necessary to foot them nor to reinforce 
the string notch with a nock. The feathers 
are stripped from the bone instead of being 
cut. Unless properly stripped, small particles 
of pith will adhere to the skin of bone that 
remains attached to the vane. To avoid 
this, take the feather just as it leaves the 
bird, grasp it at the outer or vane end with 
thumb and finger of left hand, holding the 
feather in a vertical position. With the thumb 
and finger of the right hand tear the vane 
loose from the bone near the vane end and 
immediately turn the torn part downward 
making and maintaining a sharp angle be- 



278 American Archery 

tween the torn part of the vane and the bone 
of the feather, then pull downward; the vane 
will strip off the entire length of the feather 
and will come away clean. If too much of the 
bone-skin comes off with the vane, it may be 
trimmed with the shears. The vanes of a 
hunting arrow are 4 inches long and J/i of 
an inch high. The big softer feathers of the 
wing yield better vanes than do the primary 
or pointers. The vanes are attached in like 
manner as to a target arrow but if placed 
with a slight twist or spiral the flight of the 
arrow will probably be improved 50 per cent. 
Indeed I feather all my target arrows with 
the same twist or spiral suggested for hunting 
arrows. If the pile end of the vane is placed 
%2 of an inch out of line with the axis of 
the shaft there will be ample twist to the 
vane. In fledging an arrow with spiral or 
twist wings, care must be taken to so place 
them that the pressure of the air on the vanes 
while in flight will come against what would 
be the nether side of the feather when in the 
wing of the bird, as the vane of a feather is 
very stiff in that direction while in the other 
it is limber. 

Hunting arrows are headed according to 



Notes on Arrow Making 279 

the use intended. Babbitt headed blunt 
arrows are used in shooting at birds and small 
game in trees and sharp steel bladed ones for 
large game and game on the ground. The 
weight of hunting arrows should be as nearly 
uniform as practicable, but nothing like the 
great care in this respect is required as in the 
target arrow. They should be painted be- 
tween the feathers and varnished to exclude 
moisture from shaft and vane. White feathers 
and a red shaftment have saved from oblivion 
many an honest shaft. 




28o American Archery 

CHAPTER XXIV 
The Composite Bow 
By Samuel G. McMeen 

FOR long distance shooting, irrespective of 
the hitting of a mark, the bow having 
most to its credit is that made and used by 
the Turks. Three features distinguish such 
a bow from the EngHsh longbow: that it is 
shorter, that it is strongly reflexed, (being in 
this regard the prototype of the Cupid's 
bow) and that it is composite, being made of 
wood, horn and sinew or an equivalent of the 
latter. 

Elsewhere in this book are told the details 
of the shooting of these bows. Mahmoud 
Effendi, a Turk, in 1795 shot a Turkish arrow 
482 yards from a Turkish composite bow. 
Ingo Simon, an Englishman, in 1913, at Le 
Toquet, France, shot an arrow 459 yards, 8 
inches from a composite Turkish bow. No 
English longbow has approached these dis- 
tances. The difference is in the bow and not 
in any secret of its use. 



The Composite Bow 281 

The bow used by Ingo Simon Is said to 
have been made in 1835, and that the secret 
of the making has been lost. It is not known 
that a successful composite, reflexed, flight- 
shooting bow ever was made by a man of the 
Anglo-Saxon race before the summer of 191 7. 

In that year, Dr. Saxton T. Pope, a surgeon 
of San Francisco, made such a weapon, and 
the editors are indebted to him for the details 
on which the following description is based. 

The materials are of vegetable and animal 
origin; that is, wood, horn, rawhide and cat- 
gut. These materials are assembled so that 
all of them are present throughout the length 
of the bow. The central "backbone" is of 
white hickory; it is slightly oval in cross- 
section; length, fifty-three inches, width, one 
and a half inches and thickness five-sixteenths 
inch. The horn portion is built up of strips, 
and forms the belly of the bow. The hickory 
is backed by the rawhide and catgut, and the 
whole is enclosed in more rawhide. 

These details will appear more clearly by 
following the steps taken by Dr. Pope in 
the actual making of the bow. 

From the longest cow-horns obtainable, he 
cut strips half an inch wide, a quarter of an 



282 American Archery 

inch thick, and as long as possible, he mitred 
across the half-inch dimension, and fitted the 
strips together in three parallel columns on 
the hickory base. Care was taken to "break 
joints" in this arrangement. The horn strips 
were softened in hot water at the time of 
application to the base. Organ glue was 
used for the attachment. 

At this point, the ends of the bow were 
given the reflex; that is, the ends of the wood 
and horn bend backward, the horn being on 
the convex side. Glue applied plentifully, 
heavy binding with strong twine, supple- 
mented by many clamps. 

After a week's drying, the clamps and 
twine were removed and the horn rasped into 
shape, giving it a general thickness of a 
quarter of an inch, but thickest in the mid- 
limbs. Then the following sequence: a 
backing of thin rawhide attached by liquid 
glue; drying; a layer of one hundred strands 
of No. 3 catgut laid side by side on the raw- 
hide in liquid glue; these bound on by a gauze 
bandage; drying; removal of bandage; scrap- 
ing; shaping; another layer of rawhide over 
the parallel strands of catgut. 



The Composite Bow 283 

After still more drying, the bow now was 
given horn nocks and these provided with 
lateral notches to keep the string from slip- 
ping off of the strongly bent extremities when 
the bow should be fully drawn. 

More drying; filing the horn side to sym- 
metrical and supposedly proper proportions; 
binding again with cord and testing the curve 
and weight; to make these adjustments all 
the reduction was done upon the horn; horn 
ears were set on the belly of the bow three 
inches from the tips. 

All now was covered with rawhide. This 
was softened in warm water and attached by 
organ glue; bandaged; dried, unbandaged; 
scraped; sand papered; wrappings of linen 
thread at a few places symmetrically chosen 
in each limb (to safeguard against the parts 
separating) ; a handle of leather was applied, 
a finish of shellac and oil; at this point the 
bow was well dried. 

The string is of Pagenstecher thread, a 
material used by surgeons, laid up with double 
loops after the manner of Maxson as elsewhere 
described in this book, served not only at the 
nocking point but at the points where the 
string engages the ears mentioned as being 



284 American Archery 

placed three inches from the tips. The pur- 
pose of these ears is not, as some authors 
seem to think, to assist in "bracing" the bow, 
but to afford for the string a fulcrum or resting 
spot to insure a clear release. Otherwise the 
string would buzz on the reversed outer limb. 
In other words, the formation is such as to 
shorten the chord of the arc abruptly, giving 
a quick vibration to the string. 

At the time of this writing this first Anglo- 
Saxon-built composite flight-shooting Turk- 
ish-type bow has not seasoned to a point to 
give final account of its powers. In prelim- 
inary trials, however, it has demonstrated 
great driving ability. One of its earliest 
shots in trial was but ten yards short of the 
present American flight-shot record. What 
it yet shall do will be interesting to be seen. 
The details will appear in the succeeding 
editions of this book. 



Glossary 285 

CHAPTER XXV 

Glossary 
By Dr. Robert P. Elmer 

Allowance. Change in aim to compensate for 
windage. 

Arbalist. A crossbow. 

Armguard. A piece of leather or other stiff 
material worn on the left forearm to 
protect it from injury by the bowstring. 
Also called Bracer. 

Arrow horn. A V-shaped piece of horn, fibre 
or similar material inserted in the poster- 
ior end of an arrow and containing the 
nock. Modern arrows are sometimes 
fitted with an aluminum ferrule to which 
the name may probably be extended. 
(See Nock j.) 

Arrow plate. A thin piece of hard material 
set in the bow, where it is crossed by 
the arrow, to prevent wear. 

Arrowsmith. A fletcher. 

Arrow stave, A slender rod of wood ready 
for further shaping to form a stele. 



286 American Archery 

Artillery. A word originally meaning bows 

and arrows. 
Archer's rood. A measure of 7^ yards. 
Ascham (as-kam). i. A tall, narrow cabinet 

for bows, arrows and other tackle. 

2. A portable case for bows and arrows. 
Back. I. The flat side of a bow. 

2. To glue a strip of wood or other 

elastic material to the back of the self 

bow. ^ 
Backed bow. A bow whose back and belly 

are of different strips of wood glued 

together. Rawhide or other animal tissue 

is sometimes used for backing. 
Backing. Material from which the back of a 

backed bow is made. 
Balloon feather. A vane of parabolic outline. 
Barrelled arrow. An arrow that is larger in 

the middle than at the ends. 
Bass. The straw back of a target. 
Belly. The round side of a bow. 
Bend. i. To string a bow, not to draw it. 

2. The space between the bent bow and 

its string. 
Bobtailed arrow. An arrow whose shaft is a 

cone with the base at the pile. 



Glossary 287 

Bolt. A short, thick arrow used in a cross- 
bow. 

Bow-arm. The arm that supports the bow. 

Bow-hand. The hand that holds the bow. 

Bowman. An archer. 

Bow stave. See Stave. 

Bowyer. A maker of bows. 

Brace. To bend a bow. 

Bracer. An armguard. 

Butt. An artificial embankment of sod or 
earth against which a target or prick is 
placed. 

Cast. I. The coefficients of resilience of a 
bow. 

2. The distance a given bow can shoot. 

3. A tilt in the back of a bow out of the 
perpendicular to the plane passing 
through the string and the longitudinal 
center of the bow. 

4. Any lateral warping of a bow. 

Chested arrow. An arrow whose shaft is a 
cone with the base at the nock. 

Chrysal (kris-al). A transverse fault in the 
belly of a bow caused by compression. 
Also called Pinch. 



288 American Archery 

Cloth yard. A measure of probably 27 
inches. 

Clout. I. A small cloth or other white 
object placed on the ground as a mark in 
long distance shooting. The modern 
clout is a straw backed, white faced 
target with a black spot in the center. 
It is 30 inches in diameter and is set on 
the ground at an angle of 60 degrees. 
2. A hit in the clout. 

Cock feather. The vane that stands at right 
angles to the nock. 

Come. A bow is said to come when it bends 
too much in one place. 

Composite bow. A. bow made of three layers 
of materials, usually sinew back, wood 
center and horn belly. 

Crest. Colored rings painted about the shaft 
of an arrow above the feathers, for 
identification. 

Crossbow. A missive weapon formed by a 
bow fixed athwart a stock in which there 
is a groove or barrel to direct the missile, 
a notch or catch to hold the string when 
the bow is bent, and a trigger to release 
it. (Century Dictionary.) 



Glossary 289 

Curl. A sudden turn in the grain of the 
wood of a bow. 

Cut the gold. An expression signifying the 
apparent dropping across the gold of an 
arrow which falls short. 

Cut the mark. Similar to Cut the gold but 
used for any object aimed at, as in rovers 
or hunting. 

Damp sap. A bluish line between the heart 
and sap-wood in yew. 

Dead loose. A sluggish release. 

Dead shaft. An arrow of dull, heavy flight. 

Direction. Same as Line of aim. 

Direct vision. The formation of the sight 
image at the macula lutea. Whatever 
is seen most clearly is in direct vision. 

Double round. Two identical rounds shot 
in succession and the results added. 

Down wind. A wind blowing from the 
archer to the target. 

Draw. I. To pull the bowstring back as in 
shooting. 
2. The distance the string is pulled. 

Draw a feather. To strip the web from the 
shaft of a feather. 



290 American Archery 

Drawing arm. The arm that draws the string. 
Also called Shaft arm. 

Drawing fingers. The first three fingers of 
the drawing hand. 

Drawing hand. The hand of the drawing 
arm. The right hand in right handed 
archers and the left in left handed. Also 
called Shaft hand. 

Draw through a bow. To draw so far that 
the pile passes the belly. 

Drift. Same as Windage. 

Elevation. The relative height of the pile to 
the nock in aiming an arrow. 

End. I. In England, three arrows shot con- 
secutively. 

2. In America, six arrows shot con- 
secutively or in pairs (threes). 

3. The position of a mark. 

Eye. The upper loop of a string. 

Fast. An exclamation used as a warning of 
danger, as is "Fore" in golf. 

Feather, i. A vane. 

2. A layer f the grain in yew. 

3. The feathered end or string end of an 
arrow. (Century Dictionary.) 



Glossary 291 

4. To fit with a feather or feathers, as 
an arrow. (Century Dictionary.) 

Feather in. To imbed an arrow in its mark 
as far as the feathers. 

Finger tip, A leather thimble to protect a 
drawing finger. 

Fish. The joint of the two limbs of a yew 
bow. 

Fish tail. A staggering arrow. 

Fistmele. A measure of 6 inches. It is 
believed by many to be the correct 
distance between the string and the bent 
bow and is usually found by placing the 
fist upright upon the inside of the bow 
handle and raising the thumb. 

Fletch. To feather an arrow. (Century 
Dictionary.) 

Fletcher, i. A maker of arrows. 

2. One who feathers arrows. 

3. A maker of bows and arrows. (Cen- 
tury Dictionary.) 

Also called Arrowsmith. 

Flight arrow. A light arrow for flight shoot- 
ing. 

Flight shot. A shot for great distance with- 
out regard to aim. 



292 American Archery 

Follow the string. An expression denoting 
the permanent set or curve that a bow 
takes on from being bent and drawn. 

Footed arrow. An arrow whose anterior 
portion is formed of a piece of hard wood 
spliced to the main part of the shaft. 

Foot. A piece of hard wood spliced on the 
anterior end of a shaft and forming an 
integral part of it. Also called pileing 
and footing. 

Fret. A fault in the wood of a bow, such as a 
chrysal or corroded spot. 

Grip. I. The handle of a bow. 

2. The manner of grasping a bow. 

Gone. An arrow is gone when it flies above 
the target. 

Handle, The part of a bow that is grasped 
in the hand. 

Hard handled bow. A bow which does not 
bend at the grip. 

Head. Same as pile. 

He! He! The time honored word of call 
used by archers in hailing each other 
from a distance. (Dr. Weston.) 

Hen feathers. The two vanes that lie at an 
angle of 30 degrees to the nock. 



Glossary 293 

High feathered. Having long, deep feathers. 
Hit. I. To strike a mark with an arrow. 

2. The striking of a mark with an arrow. 

If the mark be a target the arrow must 

remain in it, neither rebounding nor 

passing through. 

Holding. Keeping an arrow fully drawn for 
a moment before it is loosed. 

Home. An arrow is home when fully drawn. 

Horn. A bow tip. 

Horn spoon, i. A hit in the petticoat. 
2. The petticoat. 

Hoyle-shooting. Same as roving. 

Indirect vision. Formation of the sight 
image at some part of the retina other 
than the macula lutea. (Century Dic- 
tionary.) 

In game. In good shooting cue. 

Keeping a length. Shooting with consist- 
ently correct elevation at a given dis- 
tance. 

Keeping compass. Same as keeping a length. 

Kick. The jar to the hand caused by a 
discharging bow, due to faulty construc- 
tion of the weapon. 



294 American Archery 

Lapping. A wrapping of thread around a 
bow to strengthen it or around a string 
to protect it from abrasion. Also called 
Serving, Whipping and Wrapping. 

Lay the body in the bow. An old English 
expression which suggests that drawing 
should be done with the shoulders as 
well as the arms. 

Length. A distance to be shot. 

Let fly. . To release an arrow. 

Line of aim. The vertical plane of an im- 
aginary line from the archer's eye to the 
centre of the target. Also called Direction. 

Longbow. The name commonly given to 
the bow drawn by hand and discharging 
a long feathered arrow, as distinguished 
from crossbows of all kinds, especially to 
bows having a length of five feet or over, 
as the bow of war and of the chase of 
the middle ages of Europe, those of some 
savage tribes, those of Japan, etc. (Cen- 
tury Dictionary.) 

Loose. I. To release the string when fully 
drawn. 

2. The manner of releasing the string 
when drawn. 



Glossary 295 

Low feathered. Having short shallow fea- 
thers. 

Mark. i. Anything that is shot at. 

2. To signal results in clout shooting. 

Marker. A man who stands near a clout to 
signal to the archers the results of their 
shots. 

Nock. I. The groove for the string in the 
tip of a bow. 

2. The slot in the end of an arrow. 

3. The piece of hard material at the 
end of an arrow which contains the slot 
for the string. Also called Arrow horn. 

4. The act of slipping the loop of the 
string into a nock. 

5. The act of fitting an arrow to the 
string. 

Nocking point. The exact place on the string 

where an arrow should be nocked, often 

marked with thread or ink. 
Noose. The loop at the lower end of the 

string. 
Overbowed. Using a bow beyond one's 

strength. 
Overstrung. Said of a bow whose string is 

too short. 



296 American Archery 

Pair. In archery three arrows, not two, are 

called a pair. 
Paper game. Shooting at a small bit of paper, 

often about an inch in diameter, which 

is pinned to a butt. 
Penny. A measure of weight for arrows 

equal to y% grains. 
Petticoat, i. A hit in the petticoat. 

2. The rim of the target outside of the 

white ring. It has no value. Also called 

Horn Spoon and Spoon. 
Piecing. Same as Foot. 
Pile. A ferrule covering the anterior end of 

an arrow. It may be sharp or blunt and 

made of any hard substance. Also called 

Head, Tip and Point. 
Pin. A tiny knot in yew wood, appearing on 

the surface as a black spot. 
Pinch. Same as Chrysal. 
Play in the hand. Said of a bow which 

bends at the grip. 
Point. I. Same as Pile. 

2. A unit of scoring. 

3. A unit of a specified total, based on 
the highest score or greatest number of 
hits at given distances. 



Glossary 297 

Point blank, i. Aim taken at a distance 
where the point of aim and centre of the 
target coincide. 

2. Aim taken at a distance so short that 
the arrow flies in a trajectory that is 
practically flat. 

Point of aim. An object so situated that if 
the tip of a fully drawn arrow be brought 
into the imaginary line between it and 
the eye, that arrow, when loosed, if all 
other factors be perfect, will hit the 
centre of the target. 

Popinjay. A small wooden bird on the top 
of a pole, used as a mark. 

Prick. A small mark on a butt. 

Prick shooting. Shooting at a prick. 

Prince's lengths. The three distances of the 
York round. 

Quartering wind. A wind blowing obliquely 
across the range. 

Quiver, i. A portable receptacle for arrows, 
carried attached to the person by a 
strap or hook. 

2. The coming to rest of an arrow in 
what it hits. For example, "The arrow 
quivered in a tree," means that it stopped 
there, not that it trembled. 



298 



American Archery 



Range, i. A shooting ground. 

2. A length or distance to be shot. 

Reflexed bow. A bow in which a concave, 
obtuse angle is formed by the backs of 
the two limbs when unstrung. 

Release. Same as loose. 

Round. A prescribed number of shots at 
prescribed distances. There are ten 
recognized rounds, which are named and 
constituted as follows: 



1. American Round 

2. Columbia Round 

3. Hereford Round 

4. National Round 

5. Potomac Round 

6. St. George's Round 

7. St. Leonard's Round 

(Originally it was 

8. Team Round, Men 

9. Team Round, Women 
10. York Round 

Nos. 5, 6 and 7 of the above are 



30 arrows at 60 


30 


' " SO 


30 


' " 40 


24 


' " SO 


24 


" " 40 


24 


" " 30 


48 


' " 80 


24 


' " 60 


48 


' " 60 


24 


' " SO 


24 


' " 80 


24 


' " 70 


24 


' " 60 


36 


' " 100 


36 


' " 80 


36 


' " 60 


36 


' " 80 


39 


' " 60 


75 


' " 60 


96 


' " 60 


96 


' " so 


72 ' 


' " 100 


48 ' 


' " 80 


24 ' 


' " 60 


practicall 


y obsolete. 



yards 



Glossary 299 

Rovers. An archery pastime which consists 
in shooting at one mark after another, 
each mark being at a distance from the 
last. It may be played over a prescribed 
course in a manner similar to golf or the 
marks may be selected at random. 

Rover's mark. A mark shot at in rovers. 

Roving. Playing rovers, not simply roaming. 

Self arrow. An arrow made of a single piece 
of wood, not footed. 

Self bow. A bow each limb of which is 
made of a single, unbacked piece of wood. 
It may or may not be fished at the grip. 

Serving. Same as Lapping. 

Set the shaft in the bow. To draw it so far 
that the tip catches on the belly. 

Shaft. I. The wooden part of an arrow. 
Also called Stele. 
2. An arrow. 

Shaft arm. The drawing arm. 

Shaft hand. The drawing hand. 

Shaftment. The part of an arrow where the 
feathers are. 

Shake. A longitudinal crack In wood. 

Sharp loose. A quick release. 



300 American Archery 

Sheaf of arrows. Twenty-four arrows in a 

case. Used in military archery. 
Shilling. A measure of weight for arrows, of 

87X grains. 
Shooting glove. i. In Scotland a large 

glove for the drawing hand with the first 

three fingers reinforced on the palmar 

surface and a pocket in the back for 

extra strings. 

2. Any glove for the drawing hand, 

usually having the tips of the drawing 

fingers reinforced. 
Shoot in a bow. The old English way of 

saying, "Shoot a bow." 
Side wind. A wind blowing at right angles 

to the line of aim. 
Sink a bow. To reduce its weight. 
Slash. To loose in a quick, plucking manner. 
Snake, i. An arrow buried in the grass, 

lying flat to the ground. 

2. For an arrow to bury itself in the 

grass. 
Spell. A rising of the ends of the grain in 

the wood of a bow. 
Splinter. A small, flat sliver of wood split 

from the back of a bow but still attached 

at one end. 



Glossary 30 1 

Spoon. Same as Horn spoon and Petticoat. 
Spine. The degree of stiffness of an arrow. 
Stagger. To wobble. Said of an arrow in 

flight. Also called Wag. 
Standard yard. A measure of 36 inches. 
Stele. The wooden part of an arrow. 
Stopping. The solid part of a pile. 
Sweet. Said of a bow which does not kick. 

Stave or Bowstave. A long, slender piece of 
wood of which a bow may be made. 

Tab. A flat piece of leather large enough to 
cover the palmar surface of the drawing 
fingers and used to prevent abrasion of 
the skin. It is kept in place by sticking 
the first and third fingers through hole. 
Between the first and second fingers is 
a slot for the nock of the arrow. 

Tackle. All the equipment of an archer. 

Tassel. A tassel, usually made of green 
worsted, suspended from the archer's 
belt to wipe his arrows with. 

Tiller. A stick with notches in the side and 
ends, used to hold a bow drawn while 
it is being made or repaired. One end is 
placed against the inside of the handle 



302 American Archery 

and the string is caught in a notch at 

the desired distance. 
Tillering. The act of using a tiller, including 

the scraping of the bow. 
Tip. I. A pile. 

2. A reinforcement of leather on the 
fingers of a shooting glove. 

3. To apply such reinforcements. 

4. A thimble, or similar device of leather 
or other material, for each of the shooting 
fingers. 

5. A bow horn. 

Toxophilite. A student of archery; one who 
practices archery; one who studies the 
history and archeology of archery. (Cen- 
tury Dictionary.) 

Toxophilitic. Relating or pertaining to arch- 
ery or to the study of archery. 

Trajectory. The path of an arrow in the air. 

Turtle-back shooting. Shooting high in the 
air so that the arrow, on returning, may 
hit a target laid flat on the ground. So 
called because South American Indians 
are said to shoot turtles in that way. 

Underbowed. Using a bow beneath one's 
strength. 



Glossary 303 

Underhand shooting. Shooting with the 
bow held so that the point of aim is 
seen under the bow hand. 

Understrung. Said of a bow whose string is 
too long. 

Up wind, A wind blowing from the target 
to the archer. 

Vane. A piece of feather tied or glued to the 
shaft near the nock to direct the flight 
of an arrow. Three are usually placed on 
each arrow. 

Wag. Same as Stagger. 

Weight. I. The avoirdupois weight of an 
arrow expressed in grains or in shillings 
and pence. 

2. The force required to draw a bow the 
length of its arrow. For example, a man's 
bow weighing 46 pounds is one whose 
string will be drawn 28 inches from the 
back of the handle by a 46 pound stress. 

Weight in hand. The avoirdupois weight of 
a bow. 

Wen. An excrescence in the wood of a bow. 

Whale backed bow. A bow whose belly is 
almost wedge shaped. (Duff.) 

Whipping.- Same as Lapping. 



304 American Archery 

Wide. An arrow Is wide when it flies to one 

side or the other of the target. 
Windage, i. The influence of the wind in 

deflecting an arrow. 

2. The extent of such deflection. 

Also called Drift. 
Wrapping. Same as Lapping. 






James Duff 

B wy e r and F I e t c h e 

130 Zabriskie Street 

Jersey City, New Jersey 



Bows, Arrows and Accessories 

made especially to order 
Material and Workmanship Guaranteed 



H. H. McChesney 

Bowyer and Fletcher 

z\\iit Portland Avenue 

Minneapolis, Minnesota 
Bows, Arrows and Accessories 

made especially to order 

Material and Workmanship Guaranteed 



This Book 

AMERICAN 
ARCHERY 

is an official publication of the 

N ational Archery Association of the 

United States 

It is for sale by the Association 



Price $2,50 a copy 



Address orders to the 

Publication Committee 

National Archery Association 
1003 Huntington Bank Building 

Columbus, Ohio, U. S. A. 



Index 



Aiming, 25. 

Aim, point of, 27. 

Amaranth, 251. 

American round, 51. 

Antient Scorton arrow, 146, 147. 

Archers' Manual, 9. 

Archers, Royal Company of, 152. 

Archery, American, Hisotory of, 7. 

club, to form, 63. 

correct, study of, 21. 

Association, Chicago, 11. 

Association, National, 47. 

Association, Eastern, 103. 

Belgian, 178. 

French, 178. 

The Witchery of, 11. 
Arrow, Antient Scorton, 146, 147. 

Duff, 59. 

feathers, 264. 

Maid Marian, 61, 102. 

making, 247, 

nocks, 34. 

pile, 259. 
Arrowhead, 176. 
Arrows, 33. 

feathering, 265. 

hunting, 277. 

Reddendo, 152. 

sizing, 264. 

weights of, 35. 

woods for, 250, 251. 
Artillery, 33. 
Ascham, Roger, 21. 



So8 Index 



B 



Backed bow, 215, 237. 
Beefwood, 251. 
Beginners, hints to, 40. 
Belgian Archery, 178. 
Black locust wood, 197. 
Bow, backed, 215, 237. 

composite, 280. 

for flight shooting, 161. 

Persian, 161. 

rawhide backed, 240. 

selecting, 37. 

Turkish, 161, 163. 

weight of, 37. 
Bowmaking, 192, 220. 
Bowstring, 244. 
Bracer, 37. 
Bugle, Pearsall, 59. 



Chicago Archery Association, 1 1 , 
Club, Archery, to form, 63. 
Columbia round, 51. 
Composite bows, 161. 
Constitution of the N. A. A., 47. 
Cup, Chicago, 100. 

Clan McLeod, 59, 97, loi. 

Jiles, 59, 98, 99, 100. 

Ovington, 59, loi. 

Peacock, 61, 102. 

Weston, 62, loi. 

D 

Dallin Medal, 3. 
Deming, Frederick, 173. 
Drawing, 24. 



Index jOQ 



E 



Eastern Archery Association, 103. 
Ebony, 251. 

Elmer wooden spoon, 59, loi. 
Equipment, 33. 



Feather glue, 275. 
Feathers, cutting, 266. 

dyeing, 264. 

for arrows, 34, 264. 
Feats of skill, 114. 
Fibre, wood, for arrow nocks, 256. 
Finger, The "Shirking First," 30. 

tips, 37. 
Fish joint, 212, 226. 
Flight arrows, 164. 

shooting, 160. 
Ford, Horace A., 69. 
French Archery, 178. 



.Game shooting, 134, 140, 141, 149, 150. 
Glass ball shooting, 149, 151. 
Glossary of terms, 285. 
Glove, shooting, 37, 45. 
Glue for feathers, 275. 

spirit, 275. 
Grip, 24. 

H 

Hiawatha's feat, 141. 
Hints to beginners, 40. 
Holding, 29. 
Hosking, A. N., 3. 



j/o Index 



Indian Boy trophy, 4, 61, 100, loi, 102. 
Isinglass, Russian, 275. 
Ishi, 144. 

L 

Lancewood, 183. 
Le Coq, 181. 
Lemonwood, 183. 
Loose, primary, 139. 

tertiary, 134. 
Loosing, 30. 

M 

Mahmoud Effendi, 161, 280. 
Mahogany, 251. 
Medal, Beach, 61. 

Christian Science Monitor, 99, 102. 

Dallin, 4, 61, 100, loi, 102. 

Duff, loi. 

Maurice Thompson, 58, 100. 

Potomac, 58, 100. 

Sidway, 61. 

Spalding, 58, 61, 100. 
Mulberry wood, 197. 

N 

National Archery Association of the United States, 47. 
National round, 51. 
Nocking, 23. 
Nocks, arrow, 34. 

O 
Osage Orange wood, 183. 



Index jii 

P 

Pausing, 31. 

Peale, Titian Ramsay, 8. 

Persian bows, 161. 

Pile, arrow, 259. 

Point of aim, 27, 42, 171. 

Points, scoring by, 156. 

Pope, Dr. Saxton T., composite bow, 280. 

" Seven-arrows-in-the-air", 141 . 
Popinjay, 180. 

Q 
Quiver, 38. 

R 

Rawhide backing, 35, 240. 

Reddendo arrows, 152. 

Robin Hood, 7. 

Rosewood, 251. 

Rounds, all, defined, 51. 

Royal Company of Archers, 152. 

Russian isinglass, 275. 



Scores, American, 67, 78, 85. 

English, 69. 
Scorton arrow, 146, 147. 
" Seven-arrows-in-the-air", 141 . 
Shilling, unit of weight, 35. 
Simon, Ingo, 161, 280. 
Sizing arrows, 264. 
Snakewood, 251. 
Spirit glue, 275. 
Spoon, Elmer wooden, 59, loi. 
Stand, target, 39. 



312 Index 



Standing, 22. 
Strings, 38. 



Target, 39, 52. 

stand, 39. 
Terms, Glossary of, 285. 
Thompson, Maurice, 10, 149, 151. 
Thompson, Will H., 10. 
Toxophilus, Ascham's, 21. 
Trophy, Jessop, 61. 

Weston, 62, loi. 
Turkish bows, 161, 163, 280. 

U 

United Bowman of Philadelphia, 8. 

V 
Vulcanized fiber, for arrow nocks, 256. 

W 

Washaba wood, 183. 
Weight of bows, 37. 
Witchery of Archery, The, 1 1 . 
Wood fiber, for arrow nocks, 256. 
Woods for arrows, 250, 251. 
for bows, 183. 



Yew, 183, 195, 220. 
York round, 51. 



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